Convicted of rape, the American tried to evade justice by posing as someone else in Scotland
Nicholas Rossi, born Nicholas Alavirdian in 1984, was sentenced in October 2025 to a minimum of five years in prison for rape in the United States. He is due to be sentenced next month for a second rape conviction. But what makes his story so extraordinary is his bizarre attempt to evade American justice—by pretending to be someone else.
The case began in 2018 in the state of Utah, where Rossi was identified as a rape suspect through DNA evidence. Shortly after, an online obituary announced that he had died of cancer. According to the notice, he had been cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. However, doubts quickly arose: no official death certificate was produced, and a Rhode Island priest asked to conduct a memorial service received a call from state police informing him that Rossi was, in fact, alive.
In December 2021, Rossi was arrested in Glasgow, Scotland, in a hospital COVID ward. He claimed to be Arthur Knight, an Irish-born orphan who had never set foot in the United States. But distinctive tattoos, matched to Interpol wanted posters, ultimately betrayed him. Despite his protests, a Scottish court authorized his extradition.
Extradited in January 2024, Rossi finally admitted in a U.S. courtroom that he was indeed Nicholas Alavirdian. His trial brought an end to years of deception, identity changes, and legal battles. One of his victims said he had left behind “a trail of fear, pain, and destruction.”