American fugitive who faked loss of life may be extradited to Utah to face rape cost, U.Ok. choose says

LONDON (AP) — An American fugitive accused of faking his personal loss of life to keep away from a rape cost in Utah may be extradited to the U.S., a choose in Scotland dominated Wednesday after calling the person’s claims of mistaken identification “implausible” and “fanciful.”

The needed man recognized in Scotland as Nicholas Rossi fought his return since being arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, the place he was being handled for COVID-19. He repeatedly appeared in court docket — and in a number of tv interviews — in a wheelchair utilizing an oxygen masks and insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had by no means set foot on American soil.

But Judge Norman McFadyen in Edinburgh Sheriff Court had beforehand stated fingerprint and tattoo proof confirmed the person was Rossi.

Scottish authorities ministers will evaluation McFadyen’s ruling to find out whether or not to problem an extradition order.

U.S. authorities stated Rossi is considered one of a number of aliases the 35-year-old has used and his authorized identify is Nicholas Alahverdian, who faces a 2008 rape cost in Utah.

Alahverdian is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in keeping with Utah County Attorney David Leavitt. His workplace stated it discovered complaints alleging Alahverdian abused and threatened ladies in different states.

Authorities in Rhode Island have stated Alahverdian is needed there for failing to register as a intercourse offender. The FBI has stated he additionally faces fraud expenses in Ohio, the place he was convicted of sex-related expenses in 2008.

Alahverdian, who grew up in Rhode Island, was an outspoken critic of the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families. He testified earlier than state lawmakers that he was sexually abused and tortured in foster care.

Three years in the past, he advised media in Rhode Island he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to reside. An obituary revealed on-line claimed he died Feb. 29, 2020.

About a yr later, Rhode Island state police, together with Alahverdian’s former lawyer and his former foster household, forged doubt on whether or not he had died.

Rossi fired six legal professionals and had tried unsuccessfully to dismiss his newest lawyer, Mungo Bovey, who sought to delay proceedings Wednesday.

Bovey argued that extraditing Rossi could be a “flagrant breach” of his human rights.

In a video hyperlink from jail, the person recognized within the U.Ok. courts as Rossi was doubled over and claimed to be sick. He didn’t reply when requested if he was Rossi.

The choose stated he had appeared voluntarily, however in an outburst, the person stated guards used bodily power to place him earlier than the digicam and he known as the sheriff “a disgrace to justice.”

The prosecutor has stated the inmate didn’t undergo from any situation that will forestall his extradition.

During a listening to in June, the jailed man stated the muscle groups in his legs had atrophied a lot that he wanted a wheelchair and couldn’t elevate his arms over his head.