Matthew David Keirans, for over 30 years, lived a life that was not his own. He acquired a birth certificate, credit cards, and even secured a high-ranking position as a hospital administrator, all under a stolen identity. He managed to convince law enforcement that his victim was the actual identity thief, leading to the victim’s imprisonment and institutionalization in a mental hospital. However, diligent investigative work has finally brought Keirans’ long-running deception to an end.
A federal judge in the Northern District of Iowa has sentenced Keirans to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated identity theft and false statement to a national credit union administration, according to the Department of Justice.
Keirans’ fraudulent activities began in the late 1980s when he and William Woods were working together at a hot dog cart in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Keirans stole Woods’ identity and used it in every aspect of his life for over three decades. He acquired several false documents, including a Kentucky birth certificate bearing Woods’ name.
Throughout the years, Keirans applied for and secured loans using Woods’ information, amassing approximately $250,000. In 2013, he became a high-ranking administrator at an Iowa City hospital by submitting a counterfeit I-9 form, social security number, date of birth, and other identification documents under Woods’ name, all while working remotely from his home in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, Woods, who was homeless in August 2019, walked into a Los Angeles bank claiming that someone had been using his credit card to accumulate significant debt. He wanted to close the bank accounts. However, when he couldn’t answer security questions, bank employees contacted the Los Angeles Police Department. Keirans managed to convince the police that Woods was trying to defraud him, leading to Woods’ arrest.
Woods spent over 14 months in jail and nearly five months in a mental facility where he was forced to take psychotropic drugs. However, the situation began to change when Woods called the hospital where Keirans worked to lodge a complaint. The hospital reported the complaint to the University of Iowa Police Department, and Det. Ian Mallory began to unravel Keirans’ decades-long scheme.
Keirans eventually admitted to the scheme when Mallory obtained Woods’ DNA, proving that Woods was indeed who he claimed to be and that Keirans was the criminal. In addition to his prison sentence, Keirans has been ordered to pay more than $16,000 in fines and restitution.