Nicholas Alahverdian Dies at 38 in Utah Custody After Faking His 2020 Death

Q: After a life of faking illnesses, what was the 'chronic condition' that finally ended conman Nicholas Rossi's story?

It has not been publicly identified. Utah corrections officials said only that Rossi died after complications from an existing medical condition and that he had been suffering from unspecified “chronic, degenerative conditions” before choosing to stop treatment. That means there is no confirmed public record, based on the information provided, naming a specific disease that “finally ended” Nicholas Rossi’s story. The only illness clearly identified in his long history of deception was the non-Hodgkin lymphoma he falsely claimed when he faked his death in 2020. Separately, he was hospitalized in Scotland with COVID-19, which helped lead to his arrest, but that was not described as the chronic condition that caused his death. So the accurate answer is that the exact chronic condition remains undisclosed. Officials have confirmed only the broad description of chronic, degenerative illness and that he died after discontinuing treatment.

3 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 27

Utah corrections said Nicholas Alahverdian died Thursday at 38 from complications of an existing medical condition after choosing to discontinue medical treatment while serving 10 years to life.
Alahverdian had been convicted on two counts of first-degree felony rape in Utah, where prosecutors said his crimes caused lasting harm that outlived the tabloid saga around him.
Scotland became the backdrop to his most notorious deception after he falsely claimed in 2020 to have died of cancer, resurfacing there as Arthur Knight and fighting extradition before being returned to Utah.
Rhode Island reporters and political circles had long treated him as a foster-care advocate despite mounting warning signs, including prior sex-offense-related allegations and a pattern of manipulation.
His death closes a yearslong case defined by aliases, fraud accusations and flight, but not the damage to the women he was convicted of raping.