This is a bit of a click-baity article title. He went broke because he assumed he was getting a payout and did stupid things.
From the bottom of article:
Early in the Life Partners saga, Mr. McPherson was so beguiled by the lure of whistleblower millions that he essentially quit his day job to become a full-time whistleblower, using his accounting and life-insurance knowledge to spot potential miscreants...In 2018, he took out a $1 million litigation-funding loan at very high interest rates, secured by the Life Partners whistleblower claims, to pay back taxes and continue to pursue his cases.
From the bottom of article:
Early in the Life Partners saga, Mr. McPherson was so beguiled by the lure of whistleblower millions that he essentially quit his day job to become a full-time whistleblower, using his accounting and life-insurance knowledge to spot potential miscreants...In 2018, he took out a $1 million litigation-funding loan at very high interest rates, secured by the Life Partners whistleblower claims, to pay back taxes and continue to pursue his cases.