A man who had his identity stolen and spent two years behind bars has said he was put in jail ‘for nothing’, as his former colleague pleads guilty to using his personal information.
William Woods, 55, was arrested and charged with identity theft and unauthorized use of personal information in 2019.
He went on to plead no contest in a Los Angeles court in exchange for a time-served sentence and immediate release from custody.
Last week, Matthew David Keirans pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, after stealing critical personal information from Woods in 1988 when they worked a hot dog stand together.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Woods told the outlet he is considering a lawsuit for the years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit.
William Woods, 55, was arrested and charged with identity theft and unauthorized use of personal information in 2019
Matthew David Keirans pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, after stealing the identity of Woods in 1988 when they worked a hot dog stand together
He told the outlet: ‘They should pay for every day I had to stay there. It isn’t right to be putting me in jail for nothing.’
The two had worked together at the stand in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1988 and did not interact until Woods’ wallet went missing, he told the outlet.
After Woods questioned Keirans’ over the disappearance, the other man did not respond.
He added: ‘I put my fist in his face, and he decided to hand me back my wallet.’
Checking the contents, he said he noticed his Social Security and birth certificate were still safely inside.
He continued: ‘I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t think he was actually going to do anything.’
Despite this, Kierans went on to steal his name and identity and used it ‘in every aspect of his life’ for the next three decades, according to court documents.
In 1990, Keirans got a fake Colorado ID under Woods’ name and birthday and used it to get a job at a fast-food restaurant and a Colorado bank account.
He then bought a car for $600 in 1991, also using Woods’ name, with two $300 checks that bounced.
Kierans went on to steal his name and identity and used it ‘in every aspect of his life’ for the next three decades, according to court documents
After Woods questioned Keirans’ over the disappearance of his wallet, the other man did not respond
Keirans drove to Idaho where the stolen car broke down and abandoned it, withdrawing all of his money from the Colorado account and leaving the state.
From there, his fraud ramped up and in 1994, still using Woods’ name, Keirans got married and had a child, who he gave the surname Woods.
He then moved to Wisconsin and obtained a copy of Woods’ birth certificate using information about his family he found on Ancestry.com.
In 2013, he got a job as a systems architect in the the University of Iowa Hospital’s IT department.
He worked there for the next 10 years, earning more than $700,000 in total, and by 2023, his salary was $140,501, according to the hospital.
Over the years he took out multiple vehicle and personal loans from Iowa credit unions under Woods’ name, worth more than $200,000.
Meanwhile, the real Woods was living homeless in Los Angeles.
In 2019, Woods went to a branch of the national bank and said he had discovered someone was using his bank accounts and had accumulated debt, and asked to close the accounts.
He gave the bank his ID and his social security number, which matched the information the bank had, but he couldn’t answer the security questions that Keirans had set up.
The bank called the number they had on file for him – Keirans’ number – and Keiran answered the security questions, telling the bank employees that no one in California had permission to access his accounts.
The bank employee called LAPD who questioned Woods and Keirans. After Keirans sent LAPD officers a copy of his Social Security card, Woods was arrested.
According to court transcripts obtained by the outlet, Woods told a judge: ‘I’m not Matthew Keirans at all.’
Two months after that initial appearance, Woods again told the court: ‘No, I’m not Keirans at all.’
In February 2020, he was found to be not mentally competent to stand trial and was ordered to a psychiatric hospital. It was also ordered that he receive psychotropic medication.
He added: ‘People didn’t listen, and they didn’t know I was who I said I was. They were painting it like I was crazy.’
After being eventually released from custody, Woods was determined to get to the bottom of what had happened.
The two had worked together at the stand in Albuquerque, New Mexico, not pictured here, in 1988 and did not interact until Woods’ wallet went missing
After the real Woods tried to reclaim his identity, he was arrested and charged with identity theft and false impersonation
Meanwhile Keirans had landed a job as a systems architect in the the University of Iowa Hospital’s IT department.
He worked there for the next 10 years, earning more than $700,000 in total, and by 2023, his salary was $140,501, according to the hospital.
He managed to find out where Keirans was working and in January 2023 he contacted the hospital’s security department.
The hospital referred his complaint to the University of Iowa Police Department, where Detective Ian Mallory opened an investigation.
Mallory found Woods’ biological father and tested his DNA against Woods’ and Keirans’.
The DNA proved Woods was who he said he was and Keirans was a fraud.
In July 2023, more than 30 years after Keirans first stole Woods’ identity, Mallory interviewed him.
He asked him what his father’s name was and Keirans accidentally gave the name of his own adoptive father.
Mallory then confronted Keirans with the DNA evidence and he responded saying ‘my life is over’ and ‘everything is gone’.
He then confessed to prolonged identity theft, according to court documents, and was taken into custody on July 18 2023.
Keirans pleaded guilty to false use of birth certificate and the other charge was dropped.
He was then indicted in federal court on December 12, on five counts of false statement to a National Credit Union Administration insured institution and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
He pleaded guilty to one count of each charge and the other counts were dropped.
A sentencing has not yet been scheduled, he is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 32 years’ imprisonment, a $1.25 million fine, and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Last year, Woods moved back to Albuquerque where he lived in a hotel and now stays with a friend in El Paso.
His former boss at the hot dog business Eric Kilmer told the Times that Woods was the ‘most innocent type fellow you’ll ever want to me.’
Woods added: ‘What’s next for me?’ he asked. ‘I guess I have to regain all my stuff back and just rebuild what I was.’