Providence, Rhode Island
A great start for a young lawyer
Born Nicholas Alaverdyan, the man was at one time called Nicolas Rossi, after his adoptive father. After eventually being placed in foster care, Alaverdian began working at the Rhode Island State House in the 2000s as a page clerk and later as a legislative aide.
His spontaneity and intelligence impressed lawmakers — “He would read bills that most congressmen and senators wouldn’t read,” one former lawmaker told Dateline –. – and with their help, he later began advocating for reform of the foster care system. They could not protect him from beatings and torture.
Mr. Arahverdian led rallies, held press conferences and filed a federal lawsuit accusing state officials of collusion and other charges. The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families denied the allegations and the lawsuit was settled, according to court records. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
dayton ohio
Fighting back after being ordered to register as a sex offender
In January 2008, Alaverdian, then 21, left Rhode Island for college and was living in Dayton.
So he contacted the woman on Myspace and told her he was new in town and looking for friends, the woman, Mary Grebinski, told Dateline. She said Grebinski cornered her as she walked to class at a local community college and sexually assaulted her, then apologized and begged her not to tell authorities.
Alaverdian, who claimed the encounter was consensual, was charged with indecent exposure and sexual coercion, a misdemeanor charge of sexual contact against a person’s will, according to court records.
As a result of the trial, Alaverdian was fined and ordered to register as a sex offender. He later filed a federal lawsuit against Ms. Grebinski for defamation and other charges, alleging in part that she had “targeted” him in a criminal case “because of an unfaithful relationship and infidelity.” insisted.
The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, saying Mr. Alvardian’s claims were without merit.
Orem, Utah
Rape kit backlog and claims 10 years later
In September 2008, Alaverdian was charged with raping his 21-year-old ex-girlfriend, the affidavit states probable cause. According to the affidavit, the woman, identified in the documents as KP, told authorities that she met Alabadian through MySpace and they dated for a short time, but the man became increasingly aggressive and left her without paying her back. He stated that the relationship broke up because he borrowed money.
On Sept. 13, she went to her husband’s home after he told her he would pay the debt, but in return, he raped her, according to the affidavit. KP had completed a sexual assault kit the next day, but because of backlogs in testing, Alavadyan was not identified as a suspect until 10 years later, authorities said.
In 2020, Utah County prosecutors charged him with rape. Mr. Alabadian has pleaded not guilty.
A trial is scheduled for September 2025.
South Salt Lake, Utah
Proposal, loan problem, assault allegation
In December 2008, a woman identified in court documents as MS accused Alabadian of raping her at his home after an argument over a breakup.
The couple met online, dated briefly and bought wedding rings after proposing, according to a probable cause statement. However, the woman described him as manipulative and said she lent him money but refused to pay it back.
At her South Salt Lake home, the man refused to leave her, threw her onto a bed and forced himself on her while holding her wrists, according to the affidavit.
He was charged with assault after being identified in a previous sexual assault case. Alavardyan has pleaded not guilty and his trial is scheduled for April 2025.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Baby’s cry leads to assault
In November 2010, just days after returning to his home state and getting married, Alaverdian was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife. According to a police report, the alleged assault occurred during an argument over a crying baby.
The woman is accused of pushing the woman to the ground, pinning her down, grabbing her by the neck, punching her in the face and refusing to leave as the officer took photos of her injuries, according to the report.
The report said Alaverdian denied the assault and that when he was taken into custody, officers pepper-sprayed him after he refused to stop banging his head against the back window of a police car. .
He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of domestic assault and was sentenced to probation, according to court records. The couple subsequently divorced.
dayton ohio
Relations deteriorate once again, and more suspicions surface
By 2015, Alaverdian returned to Ohio and founded the Community Progress Institute, a nonprofit aimed at revitalizing downtown Dayton, said his ex-wife, Kathryn Heckendon.
The two met at church and got married in October 2015. But in divorce papers filed several months later, Heckendon accused him of “extreme cruelty” and “gross neglect of duty” and said he had borrowed $52,000 and failed to repay it. .
In an interview with “Dateline,” Heckendon said he once locked her in a bathroom for two days and raped her when she refused sex.
In her divorce application, Alaverdian denied the cruelty allegations and said the money was a gift, not a loan, but agreed that the divorce should be granted.
In an interview with “Dateline,” he denied sexual assault.
montreal
professional contract collapses
In February 2020, TV personality Navsika Antipas hired Alaverdian to help market her vegan cheese company and A&E TV show. Antipas told Dateline that Arahbardian identified himself as Timothy Arthur Nicholas Knight Brown, an Ireland-based Ivy League graduate with a background in public relations and international law. spoke.
Anitopus said she paid him $30,000, but he never delivered anything.
After Antipas cut off access to the website, she said, he began sending threatening messages asking her to pay an additional $40,000 or make a “reasonable offer.” . She remembered him saying that if she didn’t, he would ruin her reputation.
When Antipas told her she had been fired, social media posts appeared claiming her vegan cheese was fake, and a “scam alert” website also showed her passport photo as a mugshot, she said. said.
Antipas said he called police and hired a private investigator to learn more about the man he hired, but investigators couldn’t find anything under the name Alaverdian provided.
It wasn’t until two years later, when Alvardian was arrested on rape charges in Utah, that Antypus learned his true identity.
Alaverdyan, who completed one extension course at Harvard University, disputed Antipas’ account in an interview on “Dateline.” Mr. Antypas said he was paid for “work performed.” “I didn’t defraud her of any money.”
Providence, Rhode Island
Alavadian is reported dead.
On March 3, 2020, local news stations announced Mr. Alaverdian’s death, saying he passed away after a long battle with cancer.
On the floor of the state House, one lawmaker recalled him as a “very bright person” who was a strong advocate for change for the state’s foster youth.
According to his online obituary, Alaverdyan died on February 29, 2020, at the age of 32 from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. According to his obituary, he was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.
glasgow, scotland
New identity and new accent
In January 2022, authorities in Utah announced they were seeking the extradition of a man believed to be an Alabad man arrested in Scotland by the name of Arthur Knight.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement that he had fled the United States to avoid prosecution and was a suspect in that state in connection with one of the 2008 rapes.
However, in interviews with Dateline and other media outlets, Alavardian denied sexual assault and insisted he was neither Alavardian nor Nicolas Rossi.
Speaking with a British accent and appearing in a wheelchair and wearing an oxygen tank and a mask, which he said was necessary after the recent coronavirus outbreak, he described himself as an Irish orphan who became a businessman and married a woman. He claimed to be Arthur Knight. I met him at a museum in London in 2011.
edinburgh, scotland
Two names, one a US rape suspect
In November 2022, the Scottish judge overseeing the extradition case ruled that Arthur Knight and Nicholas Alaverdyan were the same person. The judge’s order said he reached this conclusion after reviewing photographs and fingerprints.
But Britain says Mr. Alavardian has been in the United States for more than a year now as he is being investigated for rape in Britain and his lawyers have appealed, with some arguing that the case should be dismissed. It was not handed over. Wire Service PA Media. No charges were filed in the incident.
Provo, Utah
facing trial
Two months ago, on October 16, 10 months after Alabardian was extradited to Utah and jailed, he revealed at a bail hearing in the Utah County case that he was actually Nicholas Alavardian. He testified that he was a Birdian. He testified that he moved to England and changed his name. That’s in part because of two “credible threats” against his life by people in Rhode Island over his foster youth advocacy work.
He testified that he changed his name to Arthur Knight Brown to protect himself. He said he always respected that name. Mr. Alakhbardian would not identify the person he claimed was threatening him in open court. That “ended up fueling the fire that they had to continue acting against me,” he said.
The judge held a private hearing on the matter and did not discuss the details in his ruling, but said that when Mr. Alahbardian left the United States in 2017, he was under investigation for fraud and was approached by FBI agents. In response, Mr. Alabadian pointed out that he had told them that he intended to move to an unsafe country. Extradition treaty. (In an interview with “Dateline,” Alaverdian said he did not defraud anyone. The FBI’s Utah field office declined to comment.)
The judge ruled that Mr. Alaverdian had a strong motive to flee the area and denied bail. Alabadian has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody in Utah County.
