Los Angeles, California – Matthew David Keirans’ elaborate scheme of stealing William Donald Woods’ identity began innocuously enough at a hot dog stand back in 1988. Over the span of three decades, Keirans assumed Woods’ identity, leading to Woods spending over 400 days behind bars.
Recently, Keirans, 58, entered a guilty plea for identity theft, confessing to living under a false name in all aspects of his life. Now facing a potential 32-year sentence in federal prison, Keirans’ intricate web of deception has come crashing down.
Court documents reveal that Keirans used Woods’ identity to procure insurance, a Social Security number, a birth certificate, driver’s licenses, credit, employment at a fast-food establishment, and even opened a bank account. Keirans went as far as having a child who bore the last name Woods.
The real Woods, now 55, discovered the identity theft when he found himself steeped in $130,000 of debt accrued under his name. When Woods attempted to rectify the situation by visiting the bank to close his accounts, Keirans orchestrated a plot to frame Woods for the theft, resulting in Woods spending an extended period incarcerated and even in a mental hospital.
The scheme finally unraveled when Woods learned of Keirans’ employment at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, prompting an investigation that ultimately uncovered Keirans’ deceit. Despite initially denying any wrongdoing, Keirans eventually confessed to the identity theft and providing falsified documents to incriminate Woods.
In a bizarre turn of events, Woods found himself charged with two felonies – identity theft and false impersonation – leading to his incarceration and subsequent transfer to a mental hospital due to concerns about his mental competency to stand trial.
Keirans’ deception was exposed when Woods contacted Keirans’ employer, leading to a chain of events that culminated in Keirans’ admission to the elaborate ruse and his pending sentencing. As the truth came to light, Keirans lamented the loss of everything he had built over three decades under another man’s name.