27 votes

Iowa hospital IT systems architect used a fake identity for thirty-five years

Posted by wundumguy
Tags: usa.ia, university of iowa, hospitals, matthew david keirans, crime, misconduct, usa.ca.los angeles, william wood, homelessness, police, investigation, arrests.unlawful, theft.identity.aggravated, author.emily andersen, source.thegazette
https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/former-university-of-iowa-hospital-employee-used-fake-identity-for-35-years/

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Title
Former UI Hospital employee had been using fake identity for 35 years
Authors
Trish Mehaffey, Vanessa Miller, Grace King, Tom Barton, K.J. Pilcher, Mike Condon, John Steppe
Word count
1240 words

14 comments

  1. unkz
    Link
    The most horrific part of the story — I didn’t see anything about restitution in the article, I hope he gets something for all that physical/mental abuse and false imprisonment.

    The most horrific part of the story — I didn’t see anything about restitution in the article, I hope he gets something for all that physical/mental abuse and false imprisonment.

    The real Woods was arrested and charged with identity theft and false impersonation, under a misspelling of Keirans’ name: Matthew Kierans.

    Because Woods continued to insist, throughout the judicial process, that he was William Woods and not Matthew Kierans, a judge ruled in February 2020 that he was not mentally competent to stand trial and he was sent to a mental hospital in California, where he received psychotropic medication and other mental health treatment.

    In March 2021, Woods pleaded no contest to the identity theft charges — meaning he accepted the conviction but did not admit guilt. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment with credit for the two years he already served in the county jail and the hospital and was released. He was also ordered to pay $400 in fines and to stop using the name William Woods.

    25 votes
  2. [5]
    waxwing
    Link
    Those are some fascinating sentencing guidelines! Why is "aggravated identity theft" only punishable by two years in prison, and why is lying to an insured institution much more serious?

    Matthew David Keirans, 58, was convicted of one count of false statement to a National Credit Union Administration insured institution — punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison — and one count of aggravated identity theft — punishable by up to two years in federal prison.

    Those are some fascinating sentencing guidelines! Why is "aggravated identity theft" only punishable by two years in prison, and why is lying to an insured institution much more serious?

    13 votes
    1. [4]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      2. [2]
        totallynotfamous
        Link Parent
        But a credit union is a nonprofit?

        But a credit union is a nonprofit?

        4 votes
        1. waxwing
          Link Parent
          It seems that it's not a credit union, it's a company insured by the National Credit Union Association.

          It seems that it's not a credit union, it's a company insured by the National Credit Union Association.

          1 vote
    2. Grayscail
      Link Parent
      Well entering an agreement with a big institution has a sort of implicit agreement that it's going to be a big deal if you break your word. It's like being sworn into court and then lying. But...

      Well entering an agreement with a big institution has a sort of implicit agreement that it's going to be a big deal if you break your word. It's like being sworn into court and then lying. But aggravated identity theft is like using a false ID and getting busted for drinking underage, right? I don't think it's as serious a charge as the name sounds.

      3 votes
  3. [7]
    wundumguy
    Link
    I wish they stated the motive

    I wish they stated the motive

    8 votes
    1. [6]
      Abdoanmes
      Link Parent
      It does seem odd. There didn't seem to be a reason to keep up that gambit so long. He could have done a lot under his own name, but instead he seemingly kept a lie going a bit too long.

      It does seem odd. There didn't seem to be a reason to keep up that gambit so long. He could have done a lot under his own name, but instead he seemingly kept a lie going a bit too long.

      6 votes
      1. [5]
        arqalite
        Link Parent
        Sunken cost fallacy? Once he got the momentum going, he maybe thought it wasn't worth reverting to his old name and just kept going? Just speculating.

        Sunken cost fallacy? Once he got the momentum going, he maybe thought it wasn't worth reverting to his old name and just kept going? Just speculating.

        3 votes
        1. [4]
          blivet
          Link Parent
          Maybe so, and certainly after he had a nice career going he would have had a strong motivation to continue the fraud, but the article doesn’t give any indication as to why he wanted to pretend to...

          Maybe so, and certainly after he had a nice career going he would have had a strong motivation to continue the fraud, but the article doesn’t give any indication as to why he wanted to pretend to be his coworker in the first place.

          What about Woods’ life was so attractive, or conversely, what was Keirans trying to get away from in his own life?

          2 votes
          1. [3]
            balooga
            Link Parent
            At a certain point, he had been using the assumed identity longer than his birth identity. I imagine it became second nature by then, where he automatically introduced himself to others with the...

            At a certain point, he had been using the assumed identity longer than his birth identity. I imagine it became second nature by then, where he automatically introduced himself to others with the pseudonym (without needing to deliberate about it), and responded instantly when others addressed him by that name. Probably in his mind that was his identity now. It doesn’t sound like he had any intention of using his birth name again.

            4 votes
            1. [2]
              blivet
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              I was asking why he stole his coworker’s identity in the first place, not why he maintained the charade.

              I was asking why he stole his coworker’s identity in the first place, not why he maintained the charade.

              3 votes
              1. arch
                Link Parent
                He appears to have had outstanding warrants from the stolen cars, and likely at least a small amount of debt. That said, he dug a hell of a hole here in the end.

                He appears to have had outstanding warrants from the stolen cars, and likely at least a small amount of debt. That said, he dug a hell of a hole here in the end.

                3 votes
  4. unkz
    Link
    I don't quite understand how this part happened. I guess Keirans (the real one) must have known that his name was associated with stealing the identify of Woods back when I stole the car with the...

    I don't quite understand how this part happened.

    The real Woods was arrested and charged with identity theft and false impersonation, under a misspelling of Keirans’ name: Matthew Kierans.

    I guess Keirans (the real one) must have known that his name was associated with stealing the identify of Woods back when I stole the car with the bad cheques, so he passed that information along to the officer at the time, and told him that the real Woods was the same thief from back in 1990?

    3 votes