A Connecticut family is sounding the alarm after one of its members fell for a scam that wound up costing the family business $100,000.
Hosmer Mountain Bottling Co., which sells locally-made sodas throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts, has been operated by the Potvin family since 1958. Business was reportedly good for more than 60 years, but things took a nasty turn in June 2025.
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As Andrew Potvin explained to WFSB, his brother, Bill, was scammed into sending a company check to a fraudster pretending to represent Publishers Clearing House (PCH). Bill was reportedly told he had won $5,500,000 and PCH needed the check to "verify his employment."
“The red flag was when the girl that helps me with finances told me there was a check withdrawn for $49,550,” Andrew shared with WFSB. Shortly after, another check for the same amount was withdrawn from the company account.
At first, Andrew had no idea what these checks were for, until he noticed a note from Bill. “There was a note from my brother saying he had sent a check to verify employment for Publishers Clearing House,” said Andrew.
This is when the family started to figure out what was happening. And while there appears to be some confusion around exactly how this scam went down, one thing is certain: Bill was taken advantage of, and his age may have played a role in making him a victim.
“How cruel and dishonest,” said Andrew. “There are people out there that are just cockroaches. Just terrible people, and they take advantage of people that are getting older.”
‘The void became Viola Smith’
Bill, who thought he had just won $5.5M, was told to write “void” on the company check and, once his employment was verified, PCH would send him his prize.
Bill then sent out the voided check and soon received a massive check for the cash prize he was promised. Meanwhile, the scammer was using a sneaky trick to gain access to Hosmer Mountain Bottling Co.’s bank accounts with the voided check Bill had sent.
“The void became Viola Smith, and Viola proceeded to cash her check,” said Andrew.
Bill quickly learned the $5.5M check he received was fake, and that the check he had sent out had essentially given access to the company’s bank accounts to the scammer.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Chuck Potvin, another one of Bill’s brothers. “I know Bill is kind of gullible, but to send a company check, a signed company check, is beyond belief.”
The Potvin family has reportedly met with local police and an investigation has been opened. And while this scam has likely caused tension within the family, WFSB reports the Potvins are able to accept the loss without a major impact to their business.
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What you need to know about this popular scam
According to Kristen Johnson of the Better Business Bureau, Bill isn’t the first and likely won’t be the last person targetted with the PCH scam.
“Since 2018, Publishers Clearing House has been on BBB’s list of top impersonated scams,” Johnson shared with WFSB. “Usually in the top three but last year it landed at number one.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has issued warnings about scammers pretending to represent PCH, advising anyone contacted by a supposed representative to take extreme caution.
Those who are told they’ve won a large sum of money and want confirmation are advised to contact PCH’s customer service directly. “Scammers will give you a phone number that comes back to them for ‘verification,’" warns USPIS.
Moreover, USPIS wants to remind Americans who may win a cash prize from PCH that the company will never ask for more information than your date of birth, name, address and email. Requests for additional informatiion, like confirming employment with a voided check, should be seen as a red flag.
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