Nicholas Rossi, American accused of faking death and fleeing to U.K. to avoid rape charge, can be extradited

An American man accused of faking his own death and fleeing to the U.K. to escape rape allegations can be extradited, a judge in Scotland ruled Wednesday.

The 35-year-old man, who told Scottish authorities his name was Arthur King, was arrested at a hospital in Glasgow in December 2021 while undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

Local authorities concluded that King was really Nicholas Rossi after recognizing his tattoos from pictures circulated by Interpol.

Rossi is one of several aliases used by the alleged fugitive, an American man from Rhode Island whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, U.S. authorities said.

He insists he’s an orphan from Ireland who has never been to the United States and that he’s a victim of mistaken identity. He also said he was tattooed while in a coma to make him look like Rossi and accused authorities of taking his fingerprints while he was unconscious so they could frame him.

The suspect has been fighting extradition to the U.S. since his arrest in 2021.

Last November, Sheriff Norman McFadyen, a member of the judiciary in Scotland, called the suspect’s claims of mistaken identity “implausible” and “fanciful.”

McFadyen ruled Wednesday that Alahverdian could be extradited to the U.S. to face rape charges.

“He is as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative,” McFadyen said.

Speaking from Edinburgh’s Saughton Prison via video link, Alahverdian didn’t answer when asked if his name was Rossi. He also claimed to be sick, while he sat in a wheelchair with his face hidden, the BBC reported.

At one point, however, he shouted at the judge, calling him a “disgrace to justice.”

The case will now be sent to Scottish government ministries that will review the judge’s ruling before issuing a final decision.

In early 2020, Alahverdian claimed he had late-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had only weeks to live. An obituary posted online said “his battle for life ended on February 29, 2020,” at the age of 32, adding that he died surrounded by his wife, their two children and extended family.

Alahverdian, a “devout Roman Catholic,” had his remains cremated and “his ashes scattered at sea,” the obituary read.

With News Wire Services