The PR company formed by the wife of an American fugitive who faked his own death is set to be struck off.
Miranda Knight set up Knight Corp Limited, specialising in “public relationships” and “media representation” in May 2022, at the start of what turned out to be one of the most bizarre court battles in recent Scottish legal history.
Reports last year suggested the company was set up in a bid to try and raise money to fight the bid to extradite her husband, Arthur Knight, to the US to face sexual assault charges.
The authorities believe Knight is Nicholas Rossi, a convicted sex offender who faked his own death and travelled to the UK in 2017, fleeing accusations of rape and domestic violence.
READ MORE: Rape suspect Nicholas Rossi can be extradited to US, sheriff rules
He surfaced in Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in late 2021, suffering from Covid.
Rossi, who was the subject of an Interpol wanted notice, was identified partly thanks to distinctive tattoos on his arms.
Prosecutors in the States claim he has used several aliases over the years, including Nicholas Alahverdian, the name he was using when he faked his death in Rhode Island in 2020.
Rossi insisted he was Knight, an Irish orphan who had never been to America.
Last week a sheriff ruled that he could be extradited to the states where he is wanted in Utah to face rape charges.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen said Rossi was "as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative".
He said Rossi's character had "undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case".
He had been using a wheelchair during hearings, but the sheriff said that he was sceptical that it was needed.
READ MORE: Who is Nicholas Rossi and what is he accused of?
“He contradicted himself as regards the length of time he had been in a wheelchair in the same breath,” Sheriff McFadyen said.
“His claim that he could not lift his arms above his head and keep them there because of atrophy in his arms was contradicted by his behaviour during the proceedings, when he regularly raised and kept his hand raised during the hearing as he tried to engage the attention of the court.”
The final decision on his extradition now rests with Scottish ministers.
The Sheriff said there was no evidence that Rossi had any family, friends or other support in the country aside from his wife, “who I do not doubt is devoted to him.”
Ms Knight has yet to file a confirmation statement for Knight Corp limited and as such has been handed a first Gazette notice, a public warning that the firm could soon be struck off.
According to Companies House, Ms Knight has been involved with a number of companies that have since been dissolved.
They include Veritascube, another public relations and communications firm, which lists her brother Kevin, as a director. Last year he told the Daily Record that he had no knowledge of his involvement with the company.
Both she and a Dr Nicholas Arthur Timothy Knight Brown were listed as directors of Nafsika Global Holdings ltd.
Their business partner in that endeavour, Nafsika Antypas – a vegan food and lifestyle writer and TV host – has since accused Rossie of scamming her out of tens of thousands of dollars.
The company was set up by Rossi on February 26, 2020, three days before he is said to have faked his death in the US.
READ MORE: US fugitive Nicholas Rossi faces questions over rape claim in England
An online obituary for him appeared for him a few days later. Shortly afterwards, a woman claiming to be his widow and calling herself Louise, phoned journalists, politicians and priests in Rhode Island while trying to organise newspaper tributes and a memorial service for him.
Investigative journalist Jane MacSorley obtained a recording of one of the calls for her podcast 'I Am Not Nicholas'.
The voice is remarkably similar to that of Ms Knight.
Ms Knight has been approached for comment.
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