LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A California man who alleges he paid $95,000 in a scam using the Publishers Clearing House's (PCH) name alleges he was targeted because his personal information was obtained from PCH.
Lonnie Johnson filed a complaint in the Los Angeles County Superior Court against PCH LLC, PCH Inc., PCH and Does 1-100 alleging negligence.
Johnson claims in his suit that in 2017 he was the victim of a scam that included being told he had won the Publishers Clearing House grand prize of $5 million. He alleges he was told the money would be deposited into a Bank of America account in his name but that he was required to pay $95,000 in taxes on the winnings in advance. Johnson alleges he paid the $95,000 and later learned in 2018 it was a scam.
Johnson claims he was targeted as a result of PCH storing and or disseminating his personal information. He also claims PCH failed to warn entrants that they would never be required to pay money to the Internal Revenue Service or anyone else in advance to receive the prize.
Johnson seeks economic and non-economic damages, a trial by jury and all other just relief. He is represented by A. Jay Norton of The Law Offices of A. Jay Norton in Lakewood, California.
The case was removed by the defendants to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Dec. 19.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:19-cv-10747