American fugitive who allegedly faked death to escape rape accusation insists he is Irish orphan in bizarre interview

A man believed to be Nicholas Alahverdian, a U.S. citizen who allegedly faked his own death to escape rape allegations, insisted he is instead an Irishman named Arthur Knight during a recent interview in Scotland that has gone viral. 

On April 21 Dateline aired an exclusive interview with 35-year-old Nicholas Alahverdian, who was charged in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah. 

Alahverdian, who goes by the alias Nicholas Rossi for which he is widely known, has spent more than a year fighting extradition to the United States from Scotland after he was arrested on rape charges in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19. Authorities identified him through fingerprints and tattoos.