Tonight at 8 PM EST, we'll be discussing the latest developments in the Nicholas Rossi (also known as Alahverdian and Arthur Knight) case. I've had the opportunity to speak with Brian Coogan, a Rhode Island state representative who personally interacted with Rossi. Coogan took Rossi under his wing during a period when Rossi falsely presented himself as a legislative page in the Rhode Island House of Representatives at the age of 14. You can watch that stream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/xHfEn6ufzvw
Background Story: Nicholas Alahverdian (born July 11, 1987), also known by aliases such as Nicholas Rossi and Arthur Knight, is an American sex offender who faked his own death in 2020. Alahverdian had previously claimed abuse and negligence from Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). He filed a federal lawsuit against the DCYF in 2011, which he later dropped after Rhode Island agreed to cover his medical debt of about $200,000.
In January 2020, Alahverdian announced he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. By February 2020, reports of his death surfaced, based on his family’s anonymous statements and an obituary. These reports were challenged, as they emerged after the FBI launched a fraud investigation against him and Rhode Island police issued a warrant for his failure to register as a sex offender.
In October 2021, Alahverdian was discovered in a Scottish hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19. He was arrested in December of that year on charges related to an alleged rape in Utah in 2008, for which a sealed arrest warrant had been issued in September 2020, as well as other crimes. In November 2022, Edinburgh Sheriff Court confirmed his identity as Nicholas Rossi despite his claims of being misidentified. An August 2023 ruling authorized his extradition to the United States, which was confirmed by Justice Secretary Angela Constance in October 2023. He was extradited on January 5, 2024.
On August 23, 2024, he withdrew his claim of mistaken identity in a Utah court.
See you tonight at 8PM EST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojPjvP0r948