Nicholas Alahverdian: A Trail of Allegations
Nicholas Alahverdian was known in Rhode Island as a fierce advocate for children in the state’s foster care system. After his apparent death from cancer four years ago, he was memorialized in local news reports and on the statehouse floor.
But Alahverdian, 37, wasn’t dead — he was living in the United Kingdom under a different name — and underneath his advocacy work was a trail of rape, abuse, and fraud allegations that included multiple victims and spanned thousands of miles.
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
An Impressive Start for a Young Advocate
For a time, the man born Nicholas Alahverdian went by Nicholas Rossi, after his adoptive stepfather. After ending up in foster care, Alahverdian began working as a page, then a legislative aide, at the Rhode Island statehouse in the 2000s.
Alahverdian, center, advocated for foster youth at the Rhode Island General Assembly. (Tom Mooney via Dateline)
His initiative and intellect impressed lawmakers — “He would read bills that most reps and senators wouldn’t read,” one former representative told “Dateline” — and with their help, he later began advocating for reforms to a foster system that he said had failed to protect him from being beaten and tortured.
DAYTON, OHIO
Firing Back after Being Ordered to Register as a Sex Offender
In January 2008, Alahverdian, then 21, had left Rhode Island for college and was living in Dayton. There, he reached out to a woman on Myspace and told her he was new in town and looking for friends, the woman, Mary Grebinski, told “Dateline.” While walking Grebinski to class at a local community college, she said that he cornered and sexually assaulted her — then apologized and pleaded with her not to speak to authorities.
Alahverdian, who said the encounter was consensual, was charged with public indecency and sexual imposition, a misdemeanor crime indicating sexual contact against a person’s will, court records show.
OREM, UTAH
A Rape Kit Backlog and a Charge a Decade Later
In September 2008, Alahverdian was accused of raping his 21-year-old ex-girlfriend, a probable cause affidavit shows. The woman, identified in the document as K.P., told authorities that she’d met Alahverdian via Myspace and dated him briefly, but broke it off after he became increasingly aggressive and borrowed money without paying her back, according to the affidavit.
SOUTH SALT LAKE, UTAH
A Marriage Proposal, a Disputed Loan, and an Alleged Attack
In December 2008, a woman identified in court documents as M.S. accused Alahverdian of raping her at his home after they argued about breaking up. They’d met online, dated briefly, and he’d bought wedding rings after proposing, according to a probable cause declaration.
PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND
A Crying Baby Triggers an Assault
In November 2010, days after Alahverdian returned to his home state and got married, he was arrested after allegedly assaulting his wife. A police report shows the alleged assault happened during an argument over a crying baby.
DAYTON, OHIO
Another Relationship Sours and More Allegations Emerge
By 2015, Alahverdian had returned to Ohio and established the Community Progress Institute, a nonprofit that aimed to revitalize downtown Dayton, according to his ex-wife, Kathryn Heckendorn.
MONTREAL
A Professional Deal Goes Belly-Up
In February 2020, TV personality Nafsika Antypas hired Alahverdian to help market her vegan cheese company and A&E television show. Alahverdian identified himself as Timothy Arthur Nicholas Knight Brown, and he described himself as an Ireland-based Ivy League graduate with a background in public relations and international law, Antypas told “Dateline.”
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
A New Identity and a New Accent
In January 2022, authorities in Utah announced that they were seeking to extradite a man believed to be Alahverdian after he was arrested in Scotland under the name Arthur Knight.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
Two Names, One U.S. Rape Suspect
In November 2022, the Scottish judge overseeing the extradition case ruled that Arthur Knight and Nicholas Alahverdian were the same person — a conclusion he reached after reviewing photographs and fingerprints, according to the judge’s order.
PROVO, UTAH
Facing Trial
Two months ago, on Oct. 16, 10 months after Alahverdian was extradited to Utah and booked into jail, he testified during a bail hearing for the Utah County case that he was, in fact, Nicholas Alahverdian. He’d moved to the U.K. and changed his name, he testified, partly because there were two “credible threats” against his life made by people in Rhode Island over his foster youth advocacy.
Conclusion
Nicholas Alahverdian’s case is a complex one, with allegations of rape, abuse, and fraud spanning multiple states and countries. As he faces trial in Utah, the people he has allegedly harmed and those who have been fooled by his multiple identities wait for justice to be served.
FAQs
Q: Who is Nicholas Alahverdian?
A: Nicholas Alahverdian is a 37-year-old man who has been accused of rape, abuse, and fraud. He was known in Rhode Island as a fierce advocate for children in the state’s foster care system, but it has been revealed that he was living under a different name in the United Kingdom and had multiple identities.
Q: What are the allegations against Alahverdian?
A: The allegations against Alahverdian include multiple counts of rape, assault, and fraud. He is accused of sexually assaulting several women, including one woman who was his wife at the time, and of defrauding at least one person out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Q: Has Alahverdian been arrested and charged?
A: Yes, Alahverdian has been arrested and charged in multiple jurisdictions, including Rhode Island, Ohio, and Utah. He has pleaded not guilty to many of the charges against him.
Q: How many victims are there in the case?
A: There are at least five known victims in the case, although the number may be higher.
Q: What is the current status of Alahverdian’s case?
A: Alahverdian is currently facing trial in Utah on multiple counts of rape and fraud. He has been denied bail and is being held in custody.
