Publishers Clearing House Sued for Deceiving Elderly with Sweepstakes

Publishers Clearing House is targeting old geezers with their junk mail sweepstakes and unfairly making them believe they have a real shot at getting rich ... according to a new lawsuit.

The marketing company has just been put on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit, which claims PCH is improperly soliciting old folks specifically with "you've already won" pamphlets and fake checks, making them think they actually won, but then tricking them into shelling out on PCH goods.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, PCH is manipulating the elderly to buy PCH products under the guise that by doing so, their chances at winning big prizes will improve. The lawsuit goes on to detail past investigations by state attorneys general into alleged misconduct in 2000, 2001 and 2010 -- which it settled for over $18 mil, $34 mil, and $3.5 mil, respectively.

The U.S. Senate also launched a probe into Publishers Clearing House in 2015 for alleged similar misconduct, and found they're still using deceptive tactics, according to the suit.