<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="An Alabama waitress"><span>An Alabama waitress</span></a><span> was given a winning lottery ticket as a tip on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-7-what-happened-on-this-day/cde6243b-1af8-405d-a611-df7326439028" rel="" target="" title="March 7, 1999"><span>March 7, 1999</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-7-what-happened-on-this-day/cde6243b-1af8-405d-a611-df7326439028" rel="" target="" title="Tonda Dickerson"><span>Tonda Dickerson</span></a><span> won $US10 million ($30 million in today's money) when the numbers were drawn later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But she found herself stuck in a series of lawsuits stretching on for years.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-6-what-happened-on-this-day-marianne-bachmeier/6e82226b-53c7-42a0-8d68-3ac8d77fc915"><strong><span>'I did it for you, Anna': Mother shoots her daughter's murderer in court</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was sued by co-workers at the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/weather-warning-how-waffle-house-index-help-american-officials-understand-hurricane-damage-usa-news/9b82c4de-d6a7-4b88-8024-5128df5bf514" rel="" target="" title="Grand Bay Waffle House"><span>Grand Bay Waffle House</span></a><span> claiming the tip should be split among them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A jury sided with the co-workers before it was overturned by the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/alabama-inmate-asks-federal-appeals-court-to-block-firstever-execution-by-nitrogen-gas/3c5c9c94-bc49-4cff-93d7-a292718c96bc" rel="" target="" title="Alabama Supreme Court"><span>Alabama Supreme Court</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then the man who tipped her the lottery ticket sued, claiming they had agreed she would buy him a new truck if she won.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-7-what-happened-on-this-day-lottery-win-tragedy/b789654f-90b5-42aa-a29f-fcf4a142b597" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A judge threw that case out.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the same week the case was ruled in Dickerson's favour, she was purportedly kidnapped by her ex-husband.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the purported abduction, she shot her ex-husband in the chest.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He survived the shooting, but police declined to press charges against either of them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dickerson was then chased by the tax office claiming she owed $US1 million in gift taxes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-1-what-happened-on-this-day-beatrice-nebraska-church-explosion/fd03639d-976f-430e-a62c-a05ba2954780"><strong><span>Everybody was running late when explosion destroyed church</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After a long legal battle, she was ordered to pay a substantial sum to the IRS.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her story is not the only instance of a lottery win ending in tears.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-november-15-what-happened-on-this-day-lottery-winner-murder/09345ce1-a665-4ad3-9d15-0021c93c83df" rel="" target="" title="Abraham Lee Shakespeare won $US30 million"><span>Abraham Lee Shakespeare won $US30 million</span></a><span> ($46 million) in the lottery on November 15, 2006, his life changed forever.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the massive sum of money ended up ruining his life, before he was murdered just three years later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shakespeare had given co-worker Michael Ford two dollars and asked him to buy him two lottery tickets at a convenience store in Florida.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But when Shakespeare won the big prize, he was sued by Ford.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ford claimed Shakespeare had stolen the winning ticket from his wallet. A jury thought otherwise.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But for the remaining years of his life, he found himself continually approached by friends, hangers-on and strangers wanting money from him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'd have been better off broke," he told his brother.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2008, a woman named Dee Dee Moore approached Shakespeare, ostensibly seeking to write a book about his rags-to-riches story.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lottery-winner-south-australia-winning-numbers-how-to-win-tickets-national-news/86f4507b-0cd5-4122-a435-2ed3bc830758" rel="" target="" title="Mates become millionaires after accidentally buying identical lottery tickets"><strong><span>Mates become millionaires after accidentally buying identical lottery tickets</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Though she had no experience writing, he said yes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By this point, he had already given away most of his winnings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moore offered to become Shakespeare's financial adviser, gaining control of his assets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She then transferred all his money into a company bearing his name. But Shakespeare had no access to the cash.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then, in April 2009, he disappeared.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His family hoped that he had done what he had spoken of doing in the past, taking his money and disappearing into anonymity, somewhere in the Caribbean.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The truth was far more grim.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After months with no contact, his family reported him missing in November that year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moore had told people Shakespeare had left town to go to Texas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico or elsewhere in Florida. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also sent text messages from his phone to friends and family pretending to be him, in spite of the fact he was illiterate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then, in January 2010, police searched her house.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shakespeare's body was found buried underneath a concrete slab.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moore blamed others for his death, including a drug dealer, a lawyer and even her own teenage son.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then she claimed she had shot him in self-defence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the jury was unconvinced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. She remains behind bars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lottery-winner-lotto-prize-money-claiming-come-forward-how-long-do-you-have-to-claim-a-lottery-win/53a8c118-d675-4a8a-9ad9-30d71b88de55" rel="" target="" title="Lottery winners about to lose millions in unclaimed prizes"><strong><span>Lottery winners about to lose millions in unclaimed prizes</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>