Furious hot dog cart vendor whose identity was stolen by hospital exec reveals all about being thrown in a mental hospital for TWO YEARS for complaining about $200,000 in debt the thief racked up in his name

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 in 2019 and charged with identity theft and unauthorized use of personal information.

He then pleaded no contest in a Los Angeles court in exchange for a prison sentence and immediate release from custody.

Last week, Matthew David Keirans pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft after stealing crucial personal information from Woods in 1988 when they worked together at a hot dog stand.

Speaking with the Los Angeles TimesWoods told the newspaper he is considering a lawsuit for the years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Matthew David Keirans pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft after stealing Woods’ identity in 1988 when they worked a hot dog stand together

He told the outlet, “They had to pay for every day I had to stay there. It’s not right to put me in jail for nothing.”

The two had worked together at the stand in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 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.

He added: ‘I hit my fist in his face and he decided to give me my wallet back.’

When he checked the contents, he said he noticed his Social Security and birth certificate were still safely inside.

He continued, “I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t think he would actually do anything.’

Despite this, Kierans stole his name and identity and used it “in every aspect of his life” for the next three decades, court documents show.

In 1990, Keirans obtained a fake Colorado ID under Woods’ name and birthday 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 under Woods’ name, with two $300 checks bouncing.

Kierans then stole his name and identity and used it “in every aspect of his life” for the next three decades, court documents show

After Woods questioned Keirans about the disappearance of his wallet, the other man did not respond

Keirans drove to Idaho where the stolen car broke down and abandoned him, withdrew all his money from the Colorado account and left the state.

From then on his fraud increased and in 1994 Keirans married, still using the name of Woods, and had a child, whom he gave the surname Woods.

He then moved to Wisconsin and obtained a copy of Woods’ birth certificate using information about his family he found on Ancestry.com.

In 2013, he got a job as a systems architect in the IT department at the University of Iowa Hospital.

He worked there for the next ten years, earning a total of more than $700,000, and in 2023 his salary was $140,501, according to the hospital.

Over the years, he took out multiple auto loans and personal loans from credit unions in Iowa, totaling more than $200,000, under the name Woods.

Meanwhile, the real Woods lived homeless in Los Angeles.

In 2019, Woods went to a National Bank branch and said he discovered 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 he was unable to answer the security questions Keirans had prepared.

The bank called the number they had on file for him – Keiran’s number – and Keiran answered the security questions and told the bank employees that no one in California had permission to access his accounts.

The bank teller called LAPD who questioned Woods and Keirans. After Keiran’s sent LAPD officers a copy of his Social Security card, Woods was arrested.

According to court transcripts obtained by the newspaper, Woods told a judge, “I’m not Matthew Keirans at all.”

Two months after that first appearance, Woods again told the court, “No, I’m not Keiran at all.”

In February 2020, he was determined to be mentally unfit to stand trial and was transferred to a psychiatric hospital. He was also ordered to receive psychotropic medication.

He added: “People weren’t listening and didn’t know I was who I said I was. They were painting it like I was crazy.”

After he was eventually released from custody, Woods was determined to get to the bottom of what happened.

The two had worked together in 1988 at the booth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, not pictured here, and did not interact until Woods’ wallet disappeared.

After the real Woods tried to reclaim his identity, he was arrested and charged with identity theft and false 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 ten years, earning a total of more than $700,000, and in 2023 his salary was $140,501, according to the hospital.

He managed to find out where Keirans worked and contacted the hospital’s security department in January 2023.

The hospital referred his 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 that of Woods and Keirans.

The DNA proved that Woods was who he said he was and that Keiran was a fraudster.

In July 2023, more than thirty years after Keirans first stole Woods’ identity, Mallory interviewed him.

He asked him what his father’s name was and Keirans accidentally mentioned his own adoptive father’s name.

Mallory then confronted Keiran with the DNA evidence and he responded saying “my life is over” and “everything is gone.”

He subsequently confessed to long-term identity theft, according to court documents, and was taken into custody on July 18, 2023.

Keirans pleaded guilty to false use of birth certificate and the other charge was dropped.

He was subsequently charged in federal court on December 12 with five counts of making a false statement to an institution insured by the National Credit Union Administration and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

He pleaded guilty to one count of each charge and the other counts were dropped.

No sentencing has yet been scheduled, he is currently in the custody of the US Marshals Service and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 32 years in prison, a $1.25 million fine and five years of supervised release after possible capture.

Last year, Woods moved back to Albuquerque, where he lived in a hotel and is now staying with a friend in El Paso.

His former boss at the hot dog shop Eric Kilmer told the Times that Woods was the “most innocent guy you would ever want to have on me.”

Woods added, “What’s next for me?” he asked. “I think I need to get all my stuff back and just rebuild what I was.”