Conman who faked his own death loses appeal over US extradition
A man who faked his death and fled to Scotland to avoid a rape charge in the United States is to be deported after judges threw out his defence of mistaken identity.
Nicholas Rossi, 36, lodged an appeal after Scottish ministers gave permission in September for him to be extradited to the US to face serious sex charges.
Rossi had denied he was the man wanted by authorities in Utah for the alleged rape of a woman in 2008 and claimed to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight. He also claimed to suffer from poor mental health.
His appeal against the extradition order was heard at the High Court in Edinburgh last week and the judgment was published on Thursday.
Little evidence of mental health condition
Lady Dorrian said evidence supporting claims that the appellant is Nicholas Rossi was “overwhelming” and that “he did not, nor does he now, produce anything which would suggest to the contrary”.
The Scottish judge added: “Having heard evidence from various medical witnesses, there was quite simply nothing to support that he was suffering from any mental health condition, far less one which would render it unjust or oppressive to extradite him.
“Moreover, there was little if any evidence to suggest that, on the hypothesis the appellant does indeed have such a condition, treatment would be unavailable in Utah.”
Lady Dorrian said there was “nothing placed before the court” which demonstrated that the proceedings in the US would be unfair or violate Mr Rossi’s rights if extradited. The court concluded that there was “no merit” in any of Rossi’s arguments, ruling that his leave to appeal “must be refused”.
In December 2019, Rossi had told media in his home state that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live. Several news outlets in Rhode Island reported that he had died in February 2020.
Rossi – who was the subject of an Interpol wanted notice – then came to the attention of authorities after he became ill with Covid and was taken to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in December 2021.
American law enforcement officials claimed he was a fugitive who faked his own death and fled to the UK to evade justice. They said Rossi was known by several aliases, including Nicholas Alahverdian.
Rossi described as ‘manipulative’
In November 2022, Edinburgh Sheriff Court ruled that his tattoos and fingerprints matched those of Rossi. In his extradition ruling, Sheriff McFadyen described Rossi as “dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative”.
Representing himself in court last Thursday, Rossi moved a number of preliminary motions, including one calling for an extension to his appeal period to allow him more time to lead new evidence. He also moved to be granted bail, and to have the court impose restrictions on the media reporting of his case.
Rossi argued that he was the subject of mistaken identity and objected to lawyers referring to him by that name, which drew a rebuke from Lady Dorrian due to his identity being established through earlier court proceedings.
Lady Dorrian, sitting alongside Lord Malcolm and Lord Armstrong, also rejected each of Rossi’s preliminary motions, stating it was not the High Court’s place to hear fresh evidence in the case and it was also not in a position to grant bail.
Asked to provide a submission backing his appeal against extradition, Rossi said he had been previously ill-served by legal representatives and this led to him losing his earlier court case.
Accusations against lawyer
Rossi told the judges that he was arrested because he was probing an international conspiracy involving Scottish prosecutors, the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints and wrongdoing involving buffalo meat supplies in the Ukraine.
He said it included the religion’s links with American prosecutor David Leavitt, the lawyer who is seeking his extradition to Utah.
Rossi said that Mr Leavitt had concocted fake evidence against him and he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
He also alleged that Mr Leavitt was involved in allegedly improper financial deals in Ukraine and had connections with senior political figures in the country.
He told Lady Dorrian: “Just Google David Leavitt, Buffalo Meat and Ukraine. It’s all there.”
Lady Dorrian added: “The appellant makes wide ranging and unsubstantiated allegations against various parties that have been involved in the proceedings relating to his extradition.
“He alleges that he was abused, bullied and harassed by his previous representatives; that the Crown are corrupt and colluded with his previous representatives and the United States authorities; and that he is the victim of a conspiracy at the hands of the Utah County Attorney, David Leavitt.
“He has produced no evidence to support these claims, which can only be described as spurious and a continuation of the types of scandalous claims which he made throughout the extradition proceedings before the sheriff.”
