In 1999, Waffle House customer Edward Seward tipped five employees with Florida Lotto tickets.
One of them, Tonda Lynn Dickerson, won $10 million. Instead of sharing the money as agreed, she kept it.
This led to lawsuits from her coworkers and Seward, followed by tax trouble years later and even an abduction attempt.
Who Was Tonda Dickerson?
Before her unexpected windfall, Tonda was an ordinary woman working at a Waffle House off Interstate 10 in Grand Bay, Alabama.
She was 28 years old, earning a modest living, and had no idea that one customer’s routine act of generosity would turn her life upside down.
Edward Seward Jr., a regular patron, often played the Florida Lotto. He had a habit of buying extra tickets and giving them to his favorite waitresses.
On March 6, 1999, he handed out five envelopes containing lottery tickets to five servers, including Tonda.
The waitresses had an informal agreement—if any of them won, they would share the money. Seward also had one request: if a ticket hit the jackpot, he wanted a new truck in return.
The next day, Tonda checked her ticket. She had won.
The prize was $10,000,000.
Tonda’s decision to keep the money sparked immediate backlash.
Her coworkers, who believed in their verbal agreement, felt betrayed. They sued her, arguing that the winnings should have been split among them based on their prior understanding.
The lawsuit hinged on whether a verbal agreement was legally binding. The coworkers contended that the arrangement had been a standing practice among them, creating an expectation of shared winnings.
However, the court found no legal merit in their claim. Without a written contract, their case was weak. The judge ruled in Tonda’s favor, affirming that since the ticket was a gift, she had no legal obligation to divide the winnings.
The ruling solidified the fact that informal workplace agreements, no matter how well-intended, hold little weight in a court of law.
Did Edward Seward Sue?
Seward may have been the one who handed out the lottery tickets, but he never expected a share of the winnings. What he did expect, however, was a new truck—a promise he claimed the waitresses had made if one of them won.
But just as Tonda had no plans to split her fortune with her coworkers, she had no intention of buying Seward his truck either.
Tensions grew when she kept the money, but despite his disappointment, Seward never took legal action against her. His role in the dispute remained tied to the verbal agreement among the waitresses, which became central to the courtroom battle.
According to Seward v. Dickerson, “Seward did not expect to share any potential lottery winnings based on the tickets he gave away, but he claimed that he was promised a new truck by the employees of the Waffle House if one of the tickets he distributed there was a winning ticket.”
“9 Mill” and the IRS Lawsuit
After securing her winnings, Tonda took steps to protect her fortune.
She created an S corporation called “9 Mill” and transferred the money into the corporation, with 51% of the shares given to family members.
However, 13 years later, this decision came back to haunt her. The IRS deemed the transfer a taxable gift and demanded she pay a gift tax of over $770,000.
Tonda argued that the money was not a gift but part of a prior agreement with her family, similar to the claim her coworkers had made against her.
However, the court ruled against her.
Although the IRS reduced the taxable amount from $2.4 million to about $1.1 million, she was still required to pay an estimated $357,000 in taxes.
Ironically, the same legal principle that had helped her win against her coworkers now worked against her in the IRS case.
The Abduction
As if lawsuits and tax battles weren’t enough, Tonda faced a terrifying situation.
She had been married to Stacy Martin, but they divorced in 1997 due to personal issues. After that, he stayed out of her life—he heard about her lottery win.
On Apr 2, 2002, Martin decided he deserved a share of the money and took violent action. He forced his way into Tonda’s truck while she was driving through Jackson County, Mississippi. Holding her at gunpoint, he made her drive to a remote boat launch in Bayou Heron.
During the drive, he threatened her and told her not to answer her phone. But when they reached the secluded area, her phone kept ringing. Tonda pointed out that ignoring the calls might raise suspicion. Martin hesitated and let her answer.
Taking advantage of the moment, Tonda reached into her purse—not for her phone, but for a hidden .22 caliber pistol. She quickly shot Martin in the chest.
Despite his injury, Martin remained dangerous. Tonda convinced him that he needed medical help. She then drove him to a hospital, where he was treated and arrested.
A year later, Martin was convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Where Is Tonda Dickerson Today?
She is almost disappeared from the public eye, likely seeking a quieter existence after years of legal and personal battles.
Some reports suggest she lost a significant portion of her winnings due to taxes and lawsuits. Others claim she continued working in some capacity despite the fortune she once held.
In a rare public mention, it was reported that she later found work as a poker dealer at a casino in Mississippi, as 2021.
