For over three decades, Matthew David Keirans led a double life, using another man’s identity to build a life for himself while causing immense suffering to his victim. The man whose identity Keirans stole, William Woods, spent years unaware that his life had been hijacked. Keirans’s long-running fraud came to a dramatic conclusion when a federal judge in the Northern District of Iowa sentenced him to 12 years in prison for aggravated identity theft and making false statements to a national credit union.
The elaborate scheme began in the late 1980s when Keirans and Woods worked together at a hot dog stand in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Keirans stole Woods’ identity, obtaining a variety of documents that allowed him to pose as the victim. Keirans created a fake birth certificate with Woods’ name and began using it to apply for loans and credit cards. Over the years, Keirans accumulated significant amounts of debt in Woods’ name, defrauding lenders and creditors of over $250,000.
Keirans’ fraudulent activities escalated in the 2010s when he used Woods’ identity to secure a prestigious position as a high-level administrator at a hospital in Iowa City. He submitted fake documentation, including a false I-9 form, social security number, and birth date, to secure the job. For years, Keirans lived a relatively comfortable life, using Woods’ identity to live beyond his means, while Woods struggled with the ramifications of Keirans’ crimes.
The situation took a tragic turn in 2019 when William Woods, trying to clear his name, walked into a Los Angeles bank and tried to close accounts that were under his stolen identity. He had discovered that someone had accumulated significant debt using his credit cards. Unable to answer security questions, the bank contacted the police, who arrested Woods after Keirans convinced them that Woods was trying to defraud him. Despite Woods’ protests that he was the real William Woods, law enforcement dismissed his claims, and he was sent to jail.
For over a year, Woods found himself trapped in a nightmare, unable to prove his identity. He spent 14 months in jail and nearly five months in a mental facility where he was subjected to psychotropic drugs. The legal system and authorities, believing Keirans’ claims that Woods was mentally unstable, failed to see the truth. During this time, Keirans continued to maintain his deception, manipulating the situation to his benefit.
Woods’ perseverance eventually led to the unraveling of Keirans’ elaborate scheme. After Woods made a call to the hospital where Keirans worked to complain about the fraudulent activity, the hospital reported the complaint to the University of Iowa Police Department. Detective Ian Mallory began investigating, eventually discovering the truth. Mallory’s persistence paid off when he secured DNA evidence that confirmed Woods was the real William Woods and that Keirans had been living under a stolen identity for decades.
With the evidence mounting against him, Keirans could no longer deny his crimes. He admitted to his decades of fraud and manipulation, and the case was brought to a close. In addition to his prison sentence, Keirans was ordered to pay over $16,000 in restitution and fines for the damages he caused.
Keirans’ actions were not only a violation of the law but also a violation of the victim’s humanity. For years, Woods struggled to reclaim his identity and his life, all while Keirans lived without consequence. The case serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of identity theft and the far-reaching consequences it can have on the lives of victims. Keirans’ sentence is a step toward justice, but it does little to undo the pain and suffering he inflicted on Woods over more than 30 years.
