A Virginia waitress's story claiming that she didn't receive a tip from two customers who left a racist note has turned about to be another hoax.
Kelly Carter, an African-American waitress at Anita's New Mexico Café in Ashburn, Va. tweeted out a photograph of a receipt from a customer in early January. The receipt showed the customer did not leave a tip on a $30.52 bill and left a racist note at the bottom.
"Great service don't tip black people," the receipt read.
Customers at Anita's restaurant in Ashburn on Saturday left without tipping & left this racist message. Hear from the waitress on @ABC7News. pic.twitter.com/r34M78LzJi
— Mike Carter-Conneen (@ABC7Mike) January 9, 2017
There were early signs that the receipt was forged, the Daily Caller noted. The receipt shows it was printed hours after Anita's had closed, and there are markings that reveal it is a reprint of an original receipt.
Daniel Hebda, the "racist" customer's lawyer, has accused Carter of faking the receipt and came forward on Friday to make a statement about the matter.
"Our client did not nor would he ever write anything about refusing to tip African-Americans because of their race," he said.
Hebda claimed his client did, in fact, leave a small tip.
"Our client has no ill feelings towards African Americans. Our client did not leave a $0.00 tip. Our client tipped $0.01 out of his own conviction against tipping well for poor service," Hebda said.
The lawyer also said his client left a note but it was not racist. Instead, Hebda asserts the note said, "Terrible service."
Hebda claims that the receipt was reprinted and his client's signature was forged. He demanded that the lawyers of Anita's find out who is responsible for the forgery.
Carter has already gained mass publicity, and mass amounts of cash, for the incident.
"I just looked… Three times actually," Cater said of the receipt to DCW50.
"The message that I would like for them to get is that they did not hurt me, they did not damage me, they only made me stronger," she said.
Carter claimed the customers who left the tip enjoyed their food at Anita's.
"The lady was saying they loved the potpie meal," Carter told WJLA's ABC 7.
The viral story was written about by Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Raw Story, and New York Daily News. Carter was even visited by NAACP officials and the Virginia Attorney General, Mark Herring.
Stopped by Anita's in Ashburn with my friends from @NAACP_Loudoun to tell Kelly Carter we support her. Hate has no place in our community! pic.twitter.com/3LBj4FjUTV
— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) February 24, 2017
A crowdfunding page was organized on YouCaring.com for Kelly Carter. The page titled "Funds for Kelly" has well exceeded its goal of $2,000, raking in $3,674.
The owner of Anita's, Tommy Tellez Sr. told WJLA that, "People were just coming in, dropping cash off" for Carter.
After the lawyer came forward, Philip Thompson, the president of the Loudon County NAACP, spoke with Washington's WTOP and said the organization is standing behind Carter.
Anita's is looking into the matter.