William Woods was the victim of identity theft, but he was the one who went to prison

No one believed William Woods.

They couldn't believe someone used their Social Security number to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. They did not believe that the Social Security card he himself carried was real.

Above all, no one believed it was really William Woods.

He was arrested on charges of unauthorized use of personal information and spent nearly two years in detention awaiting trial, including more than 100 days in a psychiatric hospital. Woods ultimately pleaded no contest in a Los Angeles court to identity theft and false impersonation in exchange for a prison sentence and immediate release from custody.

Woods never pretended to be anyone but himself. The problem turns out to be that someone spent decades pretending to be Woods.

Last week, the perpetrator — Matthew David Kierans — pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a National Credit Union Administration insured institution and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

The 58-year-old faces up to 32 years in prison.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, which arrested Woods in 2019, said the department is aware of the case and is “actively investigating.”

Venus Dunn, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney, said her office filed a motion last week to vacate Woods' conviction.

In a recent interview with The Times, Woods said he is considering filing a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for the years he spent behind bars, accused of a crime he did not commit.

“They have to pay for every day I spent there,” the 55-year-old said. “It's not right that you put me in prison for nothing.”

Stolen identity

The scam began four decades ago in a hot dog cart in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Woods had been working there for years, he said, when Kierans was hired in 1988. The men did not interact with each other until Woods' wallet disappeared. When Woods asked Kierans about the robbery, he said the other man didn't answer.

“I put my fist in his face, and he decided to give me my wallet back,” Woods said, even though he did not hit Kierans.

Woods said he looked inside the wallet and his Social Security card and birth certificate were still inside.

“I didn't think anything of it,” Woods said. “I didn't think he would actually do anything.”

But after 1988, there was no record of Kieran using his name, date of birth or Social Security number, according to the plea agreement he signed.

Instead, Kierans obtained employment, insurance, a Social Security number, driver's licenses, titles, loans and credit using Woods' identity. He even paid taxes in his former co-worker's name.

In December 1990, Keirans obtained a Colorado ID card in the name Woods. He then got a job at a fast food restaurant and opened a new bank account, all using the stolen identity.

The following September, Kierans, posing as Woods, bought a car for $600 using checks that later bounced, according to the agreement. As a result, an arrest warrant was issued for Woods.

Kierans' imagination extended into his personal life. He married in 1994. The couple had a child in Oregon who bears the last name of Woods. To keep his charade going, in 2012, Kerans obtained Woods' birth certificate certified by Kentucky, using information from Ancestry.com, according to prosecutors.

He later got a job – like Woods – working as a systems engineer at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Kerans provided the hospital with false identity documents, including a fictitious I-9 form, Social Security number and date of birth, according to the plea agreement.

Kierans worked remotely from his home in Wisconsin and received at least $700,000 from the hospital over 10 years. Between 2016 and 2022, he obtained auto loans and personal loans from credit unions under Woods' name, totaling more than $200,000.

The real William Woods

While the fake Woods seemed to thrive, the real one struggled.

After leaving New Mexico, Woods said he worked as a day laborer in El Paso and then got a job at a laundromat in Las Vegas. Eventually, he moved to Southern California.

He spent several years in San Diego, where he said he had a technical job, before moving to Santa Monica in 2009. He stayed in hotels and motels around the area, and said he sold gemstones, scraps of gold, or other items that… He found it in the area. Streets of the Jewelry District in downtown Los Angeles.

On August 20, 2019, Woods, who prosecutors described as homeless, went to a National Bank branch in Los Angeles and told the branch's assistant manager that he had recently discovered someone was using his credit and had accumulated a large amount of debt, according to Keirans' plea agreement. . Woods asked for his account numbers so he could close them.

Woods gave the assistant branch manager his Social Security card and his California ID. His name and Social Security number match those associated with the bank accounts Kieran opened. Because of the large amounts of money in the accounts, the bank employee asked Woods a series of security questions, which he was unable to answer correctly, according to court records.

The bank employee then called the number associated with the bank accounts. Kierans answered. He told her that no one in California should have access to his bank account. He correctly answered the security questions. The assistant branch manager called the police.

LAPD officers spoke with Kerans by phone, and he later faxed them a copy of his Social Security card, Wisconsin driver's license, and Kentucky birth certificate. Officers arrested Woods on charges of unauthorized use of personal information.

On October 31, the District Attorney's Office charged Woods with two felonies, under the name “Matthew Kerans” — misspelling the robber's real last name. That day in court, according to court reporter transcripts obtained by The Times, Woods told the judge: “I'm not Matthew Kierans at all.” It's not clear how Woods was linked to the identity thief's name.

Two months later, Woods told the court again: “No, I'm not a Kieran at all.” He asked for another lawyer. He said he wanted a detective. He made no sense at times, saying the detective was in Mexico and that he had a password, according to the transcript.

“I'm sorry. Stop. You have to stop,” the judge told Woods, before pulling the lawyers aside.

“Your Honor, based on my conversations with my client, at this time, I do not believe he is competent, and I declare doubt,” Susana Juarez, the alternate deputy public defender, said shortly after.

The judge halted the criminal proceedings and said that a psychiatrist would be appointed.

“I want to talk to the FBI,” Woods said.

“You can call them,” the judge replied.

“I want some customers to come here,” Woods said.

In February 2020, a judge found that Woods was not mentally competent to stand trial and ordered him transferred to a psychiatric hospital. He was also ordered to receive psychotropic medications.

A little more than eight months later, and after numerous delays due to bed space issues and the coronavirus, Woods was transferred to Patton State Hospital, according to a precise court order.

“People didn't listen, they didn't know I was who I said I was,” Woods said. “They were drawing it like I was crazy.”

All the while, according to the plea agreement, Kerans continued to write to Los Angeles authorities, requesting updates on the case.

In March 2020, he wrote to the Assistant District Attorney and asked whether the process was moving forward and whether there would be court hearings every two months to determine jurisdiction. The Assistant Public Prosecutor confirmed that this was the case “until he regains his competence.”

“That's assuming he does,” Kerans responded, according to the plea agreement.

Woods was convicted of felony charges in March 2021. He pleaded “no contest” and was sentenced to two years in county jail, although the court credited him with the 428 days he served in jail and the 147 days he served in jail. hospital.

He was ordered to stop using the name William Woods.

Woods said he defended the case against him.

“At first I kept saying, 'I'm not guilty,' but they didn't believe it,” Woods said. “They won't believe it.”

DNA test

After his release, Woods was determined to reclaim his identity.

In August 2021, he called a local police department in Wisconsin and reported that Kerans had stolen his identity, according to the plea agreement. That same month, Kierans filed a complaint falsely claiming that Woods had stolen his identity.

Woods then filed customer disputes in an attempt to clear his credit report, according to the agreement. Kerans filed a second identity theft complaint with local police and later provided a notarized statement to support his claim.

In January 2023, Woods learned of Kierans' workplace and contacted security at Iowa City Hospital. They referred his complaint to the University of Iowa Police Department.

Detective Ian Mallory obtained DNA from Woods and his father, who is listed on the Kentucky birth certificate. The test proved that Woods was his father's son.

When Mallory interviewed Kierans, he told Mallory that Woods was “crazy” and “needed help and should be locked up.” Mallory asked Kierans his father's name and Kierans incorrectly gave his adoptive father's first name, according to the plea agreement.

Mallory then confronted Kierans with the DNA evidence. Kerans responded by saying: “My life is over” and “Everything is gone.”

Kierans pleaded guilty April 1 in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He remains in US Marshal's custody awaiting sentencing.

In a letter written to the court on Kierans' behalf, his son identified himself as “the son of Matthew Kierans, formerly known as William Woods – either way, he was known to me as Dad.”

Starting over

In a rambling phone interview, Woods floated theories about what happened to him and why, most of which the Times was unable to confirm.

Woods spoke about corrupt cops and politicians across the country. He insisted that LAPD officers knew he was the real Woods and conspired with the banker to “intentionally put me in jail.”

When asked about Woods' claims, an LAPD spokeswoman cited the investigation and said, “Additional information regarding this case is not currently available.”

Eric Kilmer, who employed Woods in his hot dog cart business starting in the 1980s, described him as “the most innocent person you could ever want to meet.” He added that people will benefit from Woods.

Sometimes, Woods would mix up names, some people Kilmer knew and others he didn't, he said.

“I think as people were taking advantage of him over time, all these names stuck in his head,” Kilmer told the Times. “He's just trying to tie it all together in his mind, I think.”

Last year, Woods returned to Albuquerque, where he was living in a hotel. He is currently staying in a friend's truck in El Paso.

Woods said he doesn't know yet what he will do with his job.

“What's next for me?” Asked. “I think I have to take everything back and rebuild who I was.”