Investigators say a man who claimed he was held up at knifepoint in the restroom of a Bibb County convenience store earlier this month wasn’t robbed at all.

Barton Bradford of Warner Robins now says he made up the story about having his debit card stolen and being punched in the face by a man he couldn’t identify, said Bibb sheriff’s Lt. Sean DeFoe.

“He admitted he had some personal and financial problems,” DeFoe said Wednesday.

Bradford, 24, who works near the Ocmulgee East Boulevard store where he’d said he was robbed, was charged Tuesday with falsely reporting a crime. He was released from the Bibb jail on $1,300 bail early Wednesday.

After watching security-camera footage from the store, investigators realized Bradford hadn’t been there when he told them he was, DeFoe said.