Millions were promised on a postcard, but the true shock was when a locksmith arrived at her house, dispatched by con artists in a never-ending sweepstakes fraud.
By the end, a Wheeling nun who had retired says she had lost all of her life savings.
Publisher’s Clearing House giveaways were formerly very popular, if you haven’t heard of them. In vintage advertisements, a group of individuals would emerge from a van carrying balloons and a huge check, knocking on homes and delivering millions of dollars to unwary, sometimes elderly, persons.
Rene Pientka, 80, was well-versed in the traditional sweepstakes system.
The retired nun wanted to believe that she had won a new automobile and $10 million when she got the news in the mail. However, she was apprehensive after learning that PCH would never send out mail notifications regarding rewards.
Pientka didn’t begin to believe it until months later, when she got a phone call that seemed to confirm her victory.
“They said that in order to receive the prizes, I would have to pay luxury and sales tax. They were convincing. They were very suave. They were very personable,” Pientka stated.
Pientka hopes that living alone and without a cell phone or internet will shield her against con artists.
However, she began giving money to people she believed to be PCH staff because she was unable to access the organization’s online warnings. However, it was insufficient. They continued to phone and demand more money.
The con artists occasionally even mailed Pienkta little presents at her address. An Amazonian plant, and once even a pizza, Pienkta remembers.
However, Pientka began to have doubts about the two men she had been corresponding with over her sweepstakes win by the end of 2024. She claims that she stopped returning their calls.
The door was then knocked on.
“They sent out a locksmith from Chicago to this address,” Pientka stated.
The locksmith said he received a call from someone posing as Pientka’s grandson, informing him that she was locked out of her car, but he declined to be interviewed. The con artist pleaded with the locksmith to call Pientka when he got to her house.
He claims that at that point, he recognized the caller as not being Pientka’s grandson at all.
He claims that scammers have previously sent him to the homes of elderly victims in an attempt to reestablish contact after the victims cut it off.
He claims that he has at least five instances of reporting those phony calls to local police departments, and he also did so in Pientka’s case.
“He then called the Police Department and really got them actively involved,” Pientka stated.
“We do see that often because it’s the loss of contact and they don’t want to lose contact with those people,” Wheeling Police Sgt. Michael Bieschke stated.
In order to collect her jackpot, Pientka sent five personal checks to various addresses around the nation, depleting her 401(k) account of about $400,000. This was before police became involved in the case in early 2025.
Every name, address, and account number she sent money to was retained by her. Pientka claims that she hoped the authorities might have found the scammers using all that specific information.
Police were able to locate other victims as a result of those names. Older adults who unwittingly assisted the con artists in exporting stolen funds. Another name for them is “money mules.”
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Frequently, you won’t be able to charge them as they won’t be aware of what’s going on. Sgt. Bieschke stated, “A lot of times you’re not going to be able to charge them because they’re unaware of what’s happening. They’re, they’re themselves are getting scammed.”
According to Wheeling Police, Pientka is the victim of a sophisticated scam connected to global organized crime, which is why they are collaborating with the FBI. Additionally, they think that she most likely became aware of fraudsters because, only a year prior, she nearly fell for a Medicare hoax.
“When [the scammers] realize, ‘hey, we lost this scam’, they’ll wait till it cools down a little bit, kind of out of your mind and then reinitiate,” Bieschke stated.
Pientka is currently looking for a part-time job to help her make ends meet, rather than relishing her golden years. She claims that she had intended to relocate into a nearby assisted living facility using the funds from her 401(k). The future is uncertain at the moment.
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“The disappointment of dreams not coming true. I no longer have the funds that could be available for medical care,” Pientka stated.
According to the police, if you have previously fallen victim to a scam, you might wish to update your contact details and phone number to avoid being targeted again.
According to Publishers Clearing House, they would never request payment in order to collect a prize or let you know ahead of time if you have won.
A GoFundMe has also been established by Rene’s family to assist with her everyday costs.
