The man denied being Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted over allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Image source, PA MediaA man arrested in a Scottish hospital last year is US fugitive Nicholas Rossi, a court has ruled.
The man had claimed to have been the victim of mistaken identity, and insisted his name was Arthur Knight.
But Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard that his tattoos and fingerprints matched those of Mr Rossi.
Authorities in the US are seeking Mr Rossi’s extradition over allegations of rape and sexual assault.
It is alleged that he faked his own death and fled to Scotland to escape prosecution.
He had spent the past year insisting that he was Arthur Knight, an orphan from Ireland who had never been to the US.
And he claimed that he had been given distinctive tattoos matching those on the arms of Mr Rossi while he was lying unconscious in a Glasgow hospital.
Mr Rossi was arrested by Police Scotland in November of last year after staff Queen Elizabeth University Hospital recognised his tattoos – images of which had been circulated by Interpol – while he was being treated for Covid.
He will now face an extradition hearing, when the Scottish courts will decide whether to send him back to the US to stand trial on the allegations against him.