Ayling told police she first met Herba, a 30-year-old Polish national, briefly when she was brought to Paris for another modeling job, to promote motorcycles, earlier this year and he came to pay her cab fare at the airport.
After his arrest in Milan, Herba told police that he cancelled the Paris job when he realized that a group of three Romanians affiliated with the alleged criminal group intended to kidnap Ayling, his official statement says.
He said he called the model's hotel, pretending to be the photographer hired to work with her, to say his equipment had been stolen.
Herba, who has British residency and speaks English, provided an account just as detailed as Ayling's and more incredible.
He told investigators that the Romanians hired him to rent properties around Europe to store garments they intended to sell. He said he was drawn into the kidnapping scheme to raise money to treat his leukemia.
The Milan investigators expressed incredulity at the 500,000 pounds ($649,000) Herba said he was paid to rent the properties. They also said he did not provide the names of doctors or other evidence he illness.
The suspect also claimed he did not participate in Ayling's kidnapping. He told police he came to her aid when he saw her photos posted with an online auction. He said she was free to go once the Romanians had abandoned the farmhouse, but that she stayed.
