(NewsWorthy.news) – A former IT worker at the University of Iowa Hospital faces prison after he admitted he lived under a false identity for decades.
Matthew David Keirans, 58, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to an institution insured by a National Credit Union Administration and to aggravated identity theft. He stole the identity of William Woods, 55, who was arrested in 2019 and locked up for two years for a crime he did not commit. The real William Woods was charged and sent to a mental health facility after authorities did not believe his claims of his true identity. A University of Iowa police detective looked into Woods’ claims, which eventually resulted in Keirans being arrested for identity theft and pleading guilty to the charges on April 1.
Keirans knew of Woods when the two worked at a hot dog stand in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Keirans did not speak with the victim before Woods’ wallet went missing in 1988. Woods claimed the man did not respond when he confronted him about the missing wallet, and that he put his fist in Keirans’ face before the thief handed back his wallet. When he checked the contents of the wallet, Woods realized that his birth certificate and Social Security were still inside, so was not concerned that Keirans could do anything.
Keirans, however, went on to steal Woods’ name and used it in all aspects of his life for three decades, as court documents state. Keirans obtained a fake ID in Colorado under Woods’ name and date of birth. He used this to find work at a fast-food restaurant and set up a Colorado bank account. Keirans also used Woods’ name to buy a car for $600 in 1991. He moved to Wisconsin and managed to get a copy of Woods’ birth certificate on Ancestry.com using information about his family. The thief started working as a systems architect in 2013 at the University of Iowa Hospital. Working at the hospital for ten years, Keirans earned over $700,000. He amassed over $200,000 in debt in Woods’ name while the victim lived homeless in Los Angeles.
Woods is now threatening to sue the city that imprisoned him. He spent a total of 428 days in prison and 147 days in a mental hospital after he was deemed unfit for trial because a judge thought he had a “twisted” perception of reality. Woods told the Los Angeles Times that they should pay for each day he spent locked up and it was wrong to put him in jail for nothing. Keirans now faces up to 32 years in prison for the crime.
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