I have skeptical of this story from the beginning but if the New York Times is refuting it then it could be true.
...and he “ looked it up on line and found all these fake stories”... he didn’t call police? hmmmm his side of the story sounds weird.
If I wanted to disprove something the NYT would be one of the very last sources I would want involved on my side since they are so dishonest. Having NYT on on their side adds credibility to the charges more than it helps this Comet group.