Man in court denies being fugitive who faked his death

A WHEELCHAIR bound man has appeared in court and denied being an international fugitive who was discovered in a Scottish hospital while being treated for Covid-19.

The man claimed he was not 34-yearold Nicholas Rossi during a hearing before Sheriff Alistair Noble yesterday afternoon at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

However, Sheriff Noble remanded the man in custody after prosecutors described him as being a “significant flight risk”.

He had previously been granted bail but a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to turn up for a hearing on Thursday.

The court heard that prosecutors had obtained information that the man had 16 aliases. Prosecutors say the male who appeared before Sheriff Noble is Nicholas Rossi who is wanted in the US over an allegation of sexual assault.

Rossi told US media in December 2019 that he had late-stage non-hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live. Several outlets reported that he had died in February 2020.

The man, arrested on Dec 13 last year after being admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, is said to have checked into the medical facility using the alias Arthur Knight.

He was traced following a tip off from Interpol whilst he was on a ventilator in intensive care. It was claimed that police and hospital staff identified the man as being Nicholas Rossi from tattoos. Rossi, who also goes by the name Nicholas Alahverdian, is accused by Utah prosecutors of fleeing the US to avoid prosecution for an alleged sexual assault in 2008.

Yesterday afternoon the man was brought into court by paramedics and was attached to an oxygen cylinder. He was wearing pyjamas and socks and his head was covered by a towel.

The clerk of court asked the man: “Are you Nicholas Rossi?”

The man started to cough and said something. Sheriff Noble asked his lawyer Fred Mackintosh QC: “Was that a yes?”

Mr Mackintosh replied: “It’s a ‘no’, my lord.”

The case will next call for a procedural hearing on Feb 10. A full hearing on whether the man should be extradited will be held on Feb 17.