Man with ‘at least’ 10 aliases who faked his death after facing rape charge in Utah can be extradited from UK

An American man who police say raped at least two women in Utah, faked his own death in Rhode Island and resettled in Scotland under a different name can be extradited back to the U.S., a judge ruled Wednesday.

Nicholas Rossi, 36, of Rhode Island, was charged in Salt Lake’s 3rd District Court with rape, a first-degree felony, according to court documents. He was also charged separately with rape and sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, in Utah County’s 4th District. All three incidents happened in 2008, according to court documents.

Rossi also goes by Nicholas Alahverdian — he has at least 10 aliases, and told a court in the U.K. his name was Arthur Knight after he was arrested last year for shouting, swearing, lunging and pursuing staff at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19, according to Julie Clark, prosecutor with the Edinburgh Sheriff Appeal Court.

After his arrest, Rossi was fingerprinted, revealing his true identity and linking him to a spate of sex crimes in the U.S.

In a June court appearance, he spoke with a British accent and claimed to be an Irish orphan who has never been to the U.S. Edinburgh Sheriff Court Judge Norman McFadyen called those claims “implausible” and “fanciful.”

Rossi also requested a wheelchair because he said his muscles had atrophied, and said he was unable to lift his arms over his head. Psychiatrists who analyzed him say he has “no signs of acute mental illness” and a doctor said his legs “were strong and athletic,” according to The Associated Press, which reported that Rossi accused authorities of framing him and taking his fingerprints while he was in a coma.

“I conclude that he is as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative,” said the judge, who on Wednesday ruled that Rossi can be extradited, according to The Associated Press. “These unfortunate facets of his character have undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case.”

Scottish government officials will review the ruling to decide whether an extradition order should be issued, the AP reported.

Rossi has a lengthy criminal history in the U.S. that prosecutors say includes sex assault, harassment and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio, Utah and Massachusetts.

“In each case, there is a consistent pattern of behavior, where the defendant will meet a female online, he will initially meet with them in public, eventually going somewhere alone with the female, and will initiate some inappropriate contact, leading the female to want to leave,” court documents filed in Salt Lake’s 3rd District allege.

Then, Rossi will threaten suicide or force a “non-consensual sexual encounter,” police say.

In 2008, police say Rossi got in an argument with his 26-year-old girlfriend at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. He entered the woman’s car, refusing to leave and threatening to “call the cops on her and say that she hit him,” court documents read.

Once back at his house, police say they argued again about breaking up — that’s when he allegedly raped her, detailed in court documents.

Prosecutors in Utah County described a similar crime in 2008 with another woman Rossi was reportedly dating, this time investigated by Orem police. After he raped her, Rossi told the woman “this was her fault because she is ‘mentally unstable and too emotional to deal with.’ He blocked the door to prevent her from leaving,” court documents allege.

That same year, Rossi is accused of sexual battery at an apartment in Orem, allegedly pulling a woman into a room and assaulting her. She “screamed for help and a third party came into the room and pulled” Rossi off, Utah County prosecutors say.

In 2020, Rossi — then going by Nicholas Alahverdian — reportedly went public with his “diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma” which authorities believe was an attempt to fake his own death. An online obituary posted on Feb. 29, 2020 describes him as a “a painter, author, amateur ornithologist, political scientist, sociologist, accomplished orator, and child welfare reform advocate” and claims his “earthly remains were cremated with his ashes scattered at sea.”

But according to prosecutors in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Rossi was married in the UK the same month his obituary was published, using the name Nicholas Brown on his marriage certificate.

Then in July 2022 came the arrest at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ward for “obstructing the course of justice” and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

In a court appearance several days later, Clark, the Edinburgh prosecutor, said “he appears today as Arthur Knight but has previously been identified by medical professionals and civilians as Nicholas Rossi.”

“That’s not true,” Rossi was heard shouting, according to a transcript of the court appearance.

The AP reports that Rossi is wanted both in Rhode Island for failing to register as a sex offender and in Ohio for fraud.