The 3-year-old girl who was reportedly kicked out of a KFC in Jackson, Mississippi, because the scarring on her face — remnants of a pit bull attack — were disturbing customers, was nothing more than an elaborate hoax, reports Laurel Leader-Call.

The family of Victoria Wilcher claimed that she and her grandmother were asked to leave a KFC restaurant because her dog-attack scars were scaring patients, prompting the fast food chain to donate $30,000 to cover the girl’s medical bills.

However, sources told the Laurel Leader-Call that the story didn’t quite add up, so the restaurant hired a private investigator to look into the issue. The findings revealed that there was no security footage of Victoria or her grandmother in the restaurant on the day they claimed they were asked to leave, and there was no record of their order.

“We continue to take this report seriously, and of course have great sympathy for Victoria and her family. Since we have so far not been able to verify the incident in our internal investigation, we have also hired a third-party consultant to conduct an independent investigation to help us resolve this matter,” franchise owner Kirk Hannon said in a televised statement Friday.

In addition to the donation from KFC, Victoria’s family had been raising money online via crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to pay for the girl’s medical bills. Prior to the reported KFC incident, her fundraising page, created April 28, had raised just over $578 from seven donors, reported the Clarion-Ledger. After June 13, the number swelled to $135,000.

Though Victoria’s family reportedly has not decided if they will accept the $30,000 from KFC, the company said it will follow through with their pledge to help the girl even if the story proves false.

“When the allegation was first made, KFC pledged $30,000 to go to medical expenses and started an investigation to find the truth. They have pledged the money even if it is proven that the incident never happened. At this point their story is full of holes. Any thinking person who follows their timeline can see it. The event at KFC never happened,” wrote Dick West, the president of West Quality Food and a KFC franchisee, on a new station’s webpage, reported the Clarion Ledger.

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