Ex-girlfriend of Nicholas Rossi who dated conman for five weeks when he was posing as an Irish orphan in the UK claims she was a 'prisoner in her own home' as he demanded money, locked her in her room and raped her

Nicholas Rossi's ex-girlfriend has claimed he made her 'a prisoner in her own home' after she met the conman on a dating app. 

Michelle Minnaar tells her side of the story in a new documentary on Channel 4 titled Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead. 

American sex offender Rossi faked his own death in 2020 in Rhode Island, US, but was found to be living in Glasgow under the name of Arthur Knight while undergoing treatment for Covid-19. 

Mr Rossi, 36, was deported to the United States in January after spending two years fighting extradition from Scotland. His claims of mistaken identity were rejected by Scottish judges. 

Victims from four US states, as well as alleged victims from Canada and England, have come forward and earlier this week Rossi appeared at a district court in Utah, where he was warned he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.  

Ms Minnaar claims she had a turbulent five-week relationship with the fraudster which saw him move into her home in Essex when he arrived in the UK in June 2017. 

Nicholas Rossi's ex-girlfriend Michelle Minnaar said he made her feel like a 'prisoner in her own home' in a new Channel 4 documentary

American sex offender Rossi faked his own death in 2020 in Rhode Island , US, but was found to be living in Glasgow under the name of Arthur Knight while undergoing treatment for Covid-19

The food blogger, from Pretoria in South Africa, originally met Rossi on dating app GoCupid when he was living in the US, and she was based in the UK. 

At first, she said he seemed 'funny and well-spoken', saying he was a Harvard-educated lobbyist and even had a Wikipedia page and YouTube videos of his speeches. 

He soon began raising the prospect of visiting her in England - even saying he wanted to move to the UK, all before they actually met. 

Speaking in the documentary, Ms Minnaar said: 'I felt a bit bamboozled but if he stayed for a few days that should be ok.' She paused, then added: 'Then the drama started.'

What was meant to be a brief visit for the couple's first meeting turned into Rossi staying in Ms Minnaar's house for five weeks. Before long, he started demanding money from her.  

The mother-of-two recalled: 'From the moment he walked in it was manipulation and gaslighting. 

'He wanted cash. Lots of it. He splashed my cash like water.'

Ms Minnaar gave him a few hundred while he tried to 'settle' in the UK, but he demanded more and more and even said she should dress 'smarter' like him.

Ms Minnaar met Rossi on dating app GoCupid, where Rossi used the name Nicholas Alahverdian

She said she was soon victim to blackmail and even rape by the notorious fraudster

She said: 'I felt like a prisoner in my own house because this guy won't leave.'

She added: 'I think he's an evil parasite that will jump from victim to victim.' 

The frightening situation peaked when he blocked her in her bedroom as she was trying to leave, before raping her. 

Ms Minnaar previously said Rossi told her 'he was framed' when she confronted him about being on the US sex register. 

She said she 'couldn't believe it' when she saw online he was facing extradition charges claiming he is a 'serial liar' who 'relies solely on people feeling sorry for him' due to his 'intense victimhood facade'.

Shortly after Rossi moved into Ms Minaar's home, she found out he was on the sex offenders’ register following a previous conviction in Dayton, Ohio - but he told her he was 'framed by a woman who had a boyfriend'.

Ms Minnaar told MailOnline: 'During our whirlwind relationship, I saw online that he was on a US sex offenders list.

'When I confronted him about it, he told me he'd previously met a girl and they had sex. She later told him she had a boyfriend. She then reported it to the police and framed him for sexual assault.

'He was a serial liar. Now I look back at the time we spent together there were so many red flags. He is a master manipulator. Now I look back, how he was allowed to travel to the UK is beyond me!'

Rossi - the man 'who came back from the dead' - is the subject of a new Channel 4 documentary

Nicholas Rossi departs Edinburgh Sheriff Court after his extradition hearing on July 12, 2023

Michelle said Rossi had seemed chatty and interested before he flew to the UK to meet her

Ms Minnaar claimed she was raped by Rossi after refusing to have sex with him during their relationship. She also alleged he 'stole £3600' from her.

After Rossi arrived at her home, she realised 'he was not who he seemed' and maintained a 'strange relationship' with her daughter while ignoring her son who suffers with autism and global developmental delay. 

Rossi is believed to have met his current wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight.

They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid that he had to be hospitalised at the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From The Dead airs next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on Channel 4.