A Tampa Bay area Hamburger Mary's restaurant was forced out of business after the health department warned the public that one of its employees had tested positive for hepatitis A, and offered free vaccinations to customers.

But owner Kurt King says officials faked the scare, targeting the establishment for being gay owned and frequented, and shared test results with the local ABC affiliate showing his employee tested negative.

King showed results declaring the worker "non-reactive" to hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, and said he wanted to know why the Hillsborough County Health Department issue the warning in October.

The announcement came after it was reported the health department failed to warn the public about four other local restaurants where employees had tested positive for hepatitis, and claimed Hamburger Mary's was closing due to a worker testing positive.

However, the same local ABC affiliate reports the restaurant was actually closed due to live roaches and rodents discovered in the kitchen, as well as food temperature violations.

"Over 400 people in the state of Florida have hepatitis A," King said. "Where do they all work at? Why weren’t they put on the news? Why weren't their restaurants and businesses destroyed like mine? That’s what I want to know."

"I think they targeted us because we’re a gay restaurant, gay-owned, popular gay restaurant," he added.

Dr. Douglas Holt, head of the Hillsborough County Health Department, admitted he had not personally seen the test results showing an employee at King's restaurant had tested positive for hepatitis A. He said he was sure the county had the correct results nonetheless, but refused to make that positive test public.

"We didn’t like the way they were doing their food preparation and hygiene and other things," Holt said.

He then seemed to confirm that Hamburger Mary's was targeted, noting that men who have sex with men are more likely to contract hepatitis, along with drug users and those experiencing homelessness.

"If you’re going to fish, you need to go where the fish are," said Holt.

"It costs me everything I own," King said. "I’m just trying to stay open at the other two locations, fighting for payroll, fighting to pay the food bills, fighting to pay everything. And it’s very difficult. And I feel the health department did me wrong. And I think the community needs to wake up because they did us all wrong."

Hamburger Mary's is a franchise restaurant, with the first location opening in 1972 in San Francisco. It bills itself as "the only national restaurant brand with a strong history in the LGBT community."