Scottish court says man accused of faking death can be extradited to US

A court ruled on Wednesday that an American who allegedly faked his own death but was recognised in a hospital by his tattoos can be extradited from Scotland to the United States. Scottish ministers will make the final decision.

According to the Edinburgh Sheriff Court, there are no legal obstacles to the extradition of the individual who American authorities claim is connected to Utah rape and sexual assault claims.

According to American prosecutors, the individual is Nicholas Rossi, who attempted to fake his own death from non-Hodgkin lymphoma before fleeing the country in order to avoid being found and arrested. He allegedly utilised additional aliases.

He claims to be Arthur Knight, that he was the victim of mistaken identity, and that he has never travelled to the US. As part of the proceedings he has endured in Scotland, he has not been obliged to address the substance of the Utah claims.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen, who oversaw the case, came to the conclusion that his extradition would be legal under British human rights regulations.

“It follows that I must send the case of the requested person Nicholas Rossi to the Scottish ministers for their decision whether he is to be extradited,” McFadyen said.

Rossi checked himself into a hospital in Glasgow in October of 2021 and was later detained by police after providing his COVID-19.

He was identified as Rossi by police and medical personnel after comparing his tattoos to images from Interpol.

He was described as being “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative” by McFadyen.

A judge in Edinburgh determined that he was Rossi, the man wanted in Utah, last year.

The ministers’ ultimate decision has still to be made, and no date has been established.

(With agency inputs)