Scottish ministers have signed an extradition order for Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted in the US on a charge of rape and is accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution.

The decision by the Scottish Government means Rossi can now be moved to America, where he is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008.

He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

In August, a sheriff ruled there is no impediment to Rossi being extradited, following a series of hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen branded Rossi “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative”.

As well as Rossi’s claims that he is actually an Irish orphan called Arthur Knight, his claims about his medical conditions have also been disproven by expert witnesses.

He repeatedly attended court in a wheelchair with an oxygen bottle, but a doctor told the court his legs are “strong and athletic”.

On Thursday, the Scottish Government revealed in a Freedom of Information response that a decision in his case had been made in September.

It said: “The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on September 28, 2023.”

The decision is the latest development in a long-running case in the Scottish legal system, which began with Rossi’s arrest in a Glasgow hospital in December 2021.

During a week-long hearing in June this year, Rossi wore what appeared to be a black legal gown and a yarmulke – a hat worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

Questioned about his dress in court, Rossi claimed the gown was actually called a bekishe, an overcoat also worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

He converted to Judaism while in HMP Edinburgh, where he has been held since 2022.

In his August ruling, Sheriff McFadyen said Rossi’s deceitfulness had “undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case”.

Rossi was born as Nicholas Alahverdian in Providence, Rhode Island, in July 1987. He had a turbulent childhood and left his family home as a teenager, spending much of his adolescence in Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) care facilities.

Rossi spoke out against the conditions in care, claiming to have suffered abuse and neglect, and had made a name for himself by campaigning to improve facilities for children living in the state’s care.

In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio. He was placed on the sex offenders register as a result.

Rossi claimed he had been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in late 2019 and around this time, friends in the media and politics say they began receiving calls from him to say he was dying.

An obituary appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and his ashes had been scattered at sea.

In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah, which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland. He was arrested on December 13, 2021 at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.

Nicholas Rossi: Scottish ministers rule rape suspect can be extradited from Scotland