The waiter at a Texas steakhouse, who posted on social media saying he was stiffed by a “racist” customer for being a ‘terrorist,” made up the entire story, according to his former employer.

Last week, Khalil Cavil, a 20-year-old server at the Odessa Saltgrass Steak House claimed a customer left him no tip while he worked on July 14. Cavil posted a photo of the customer’s crinkled dinner receipt on Facebook. It displayed a scrawled out message that read: “We don’t tip terrorist.” His name “Khalil” was circled as the waitstaff member as if to explain the intent behind the hateful message.

The post went viral and attracted national media attention. Reportedly, over Facebook, people offered him money after he said in the post that he was working to attend college in Dallas this fall. At the time, the restaurant stood by their employee, even confirmed the story, and banned the customers who allegedly wrote the note from eating at the restaurant again.

Cavil even wrote he hoped by sharing the post, it would start a conversation. Cavil wanted “people to understand that this is racism and this hatred still exists,” according to CBSDFW. “Although this is nothing new, it is still something that will test your faith,” he posted.

However, late Monday, Terry Turney, COO of Saltgrass released a statement that Cavil’s message was “fabricated.” Said Turney, “After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story. The customer has been contacted and invited back to dine on us.”

He continued, “Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equally disturbing.”

The Odessa American reported that Cavil admitted to Saltgrass on Sunday that the entire incident was a hoax. It is unclear how the truth came out, but but he said he admitted the lie in what he called “the first step to making it right.”

Cavil also said he wrote the note.

“I did write it,” he stated. “I don’t have an explanation. I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did.” He again apologized. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I deeply made a huge, big mistake and I’m in the process of getting the help that I need.”

Reportedly, the Facebook donations totaled about $1,000. Cavil told the Odessa newspaper all the money is being processed and returned. “Most all of it has been returned,” he said.

The Odessa news publication said Cavil is no longer employed at Saltgrass.

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