A man who had his identity stolen and spent two years behind bars has said he was jailed “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 then pleaded no contest in a Los Angeles court in exchange for a 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 together at a hot dog stand.
Talking with him Los Angeles TimesWoods told the outlet that he is considering filing a lawsuit over 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 Woods’ identity in 1988 when they worked together at a hot dog stand.
He told the outlet: ‘They should pay for every day I had to stay there. It’s not right that they put me in jail for nothing.
The two had worked together at the Albuquerque, New Mexico, booth in 1988 and did not interact until Woods’ wallet disappeared, he told the outlet.
After Woods questioned Keirans about the disappearance, the other man did not respond.
And he added: “I put my fist in his face and he decided to give me my wallet back.”
Upon reviewing the contents, he said he noticed that his Social Security and birth certificate were still safe inside.
He continued: ‘I didn’t think about any of that. I didn’t think it was actually going to do anything.
Despite this, Kierans stole his name and identity and used them. “in all aspects of his life” for the next three decades, according to court documents.
In 1990, Keirans obtained a fake Colorado ID with Woods’ name and date of birth and used it to get a job at a fast-food restaurant and a bank account in Colorado.
He then bought a car for $600 in 1991, also using Woods’ name, and two $300 checks were bounced.
Kierans stole her name and identity and used them “in every aspect of his life” for the next three decades, according to court documents.
After Woods questioned Keirans about his missing wallet, the other man did not respond.
Keirans drove to Idaho, where the stolen car broke down and he abandoned it, withdrawing all his money from the Colorado account and leaving the state.
From there, his fraud increased and in 1994, still using the name Woods, Keirans married and had a son, whom he gave the last name Woods.
He then moved to Wisconsin and obtained a copy of Woods’ birth certificate using information about his family that he found on Ancestry.com.
In 2013, he landed a job as a systems architect in the IT department at the University of Iowa Hospital.
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 personal and vehicle 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 National Bank branch and said he had discovered that someone was using his bank accounts and racking up debt, and asked to close the accounts.
He gave the bank his ID and Social Security number, which matched the information the bank had, but was unable to answer the security questions Keirans had set up.
The bank called the number they had on file for him, Keirans’ number, and Keiran answered security questions, telling bank employees that no one in California had permission to access his accounts.
The bank employee called the Los Angeles police, 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 determined not to be mentally competent to stand trial and was ordered into a psychiatric hospital. He was also ordered to receive psychotropic medication.
He added: “People didn’t listen to me and they didn’t know I was who I said I was.” They were painting him as if he was crazy.
After finally being released from custody, Woods was determined to get to the bottom of what happened.
The two had worked together at the Albuquerque, New Mexico, booth, not pictured, in 1988 and did not interact until Woods’ wallet disappeared.
After the real Woods attempted to claim his identity, he was arrested and charged with identity theft and impersonation.
Meanwhile, Keirans had gotten a job as a systems architect in the IT department at the University of Iowa Hospital.
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 worked and in January 2023 he contacted the hospital’s security department.
The hospital forwarded her 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.
DNA proved that Woods was who he said he was and that 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 him the name of his own adoptive father.
Mallory then confronted Keirans with the DNA evidence and he responded by saying “my life is over” and “everything is gone.”
He then confessed to prolonged identity theft, according to court documents, and was arrested on July 18, 2023.
Keirans pleaded guilty to false use of a birth certificate and the other charge was dropped.
He was then indicted in federal court on Dec. 12 on five counts of making false statements 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 others were dropped.
No sentencing has yet been scheduled, he is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 32 years in prison, a fine of 1.25 million dollars and five years. supervised release after any incarceration.
Last year, Woods returned to Albuquerque, where he lived in a hotel and is now staying with a friend in El Paso.
His former boss in the hot dog business, Eric Kilmer, told the Times that Woods was “the most innocent guy you’ll ever want to see.”
Woods added: “What’s next for me?” he asked. “I guess I have to get all my stuff back and just rebuild what it was.”