Nicholas Alahverdian, a former foster youth advocate who once faked his death to avoid prosecution, is set to face trial again in Utah.
Jury selection begins Monday in Utah County for the case accusing Alahverdian of raping an ex-girlfriend on September 13, 2008. Opening arguments could begin later in the week.
This comes just one month after he was convicted of raping his former fiancé in Salt Lake County in December 2008. He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case next month.
According to court documents, the woman in this case, identified as K.P., said she met Alahverdian on MySpace in 2008 and dated him briefly before ending the relationship. She claims he became aggressive and failed to repay borrowed money. She said she went to his home expecting repayment but was instead raped.
A sexual assault kit was completed the next day, but testing delays meant Alahverdian was not identified as the suspect until 10 years later. He was officially charged with rape in 2020 — the same year an obituary claimed he had died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Authorities later discovered he had fled the U.S. and was living in Scotland under the name Arthur Knight. During a televised interview, he claimed to be an Irish orphan and denied being Alahverdian. A Scottish judge later ruled that he was in fact Alahverdian, leading to his extradition to the U.S. in January 2024.
In a previous case, his former fiancé testified that Alahverdian became controlling, refused to return money she had lent him, and raped her after an argument about ending their engagement.
Alahverdian has denied all accusations, calling them retaliation for his work as a foster youth advocate. But court records show multiple allegations from different women, including an ex-wife who accused him of cruelty and financial exploitation, and a 2008 case in Ohio where he was convicted of public indecency and sexual imposition.
