Editor’s Note: The United States Court of Appeals, on April 23, 2026, affirmed the district court’s sentence, denying Matthew Keirans’ appeal of an “unreasonable term of imprisonment.”
A former University of Iowa IT employee was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Friday after stealing a California man’s identity and deceiving his family and employer for more than three decades.
Matthew Keirans, 58, pleaded guilty last April to federal charges of several decades of identity fraud and lying to a credit union.
He was employed by the University of Iowa Health Care IT department and worked remotely from the Milwaukee area under the name William Woods, the true identity of a California man. Keirans is guilty of stealing Woods’ name and identity for nearly 35 years.
As part of his sentence, Keirans will serve 12 years minus 30 days, face a fine of $10,000 and will pay $10,000 in attorney’s fees to his federal public defender. He has already paid $6,190 in court-ordered restitution to the real William Woods.
Keirans’ final annual salary with the UI was $140,000, according to university records.
Woods was falsely imprisoned as identity fraud case played out
The real Woods was in Cedar Rapids Friday for Kierans’ sentencing to deliver a victim impact statement. Woods told reporters that Keirans’ sentence was “what he deserves.”
“They sent me to jail for nothing,” Woods said to the judge. “For being myself.”
The state of California has tried collecting a six-figure hospital bill from Woods, who was imprisoned and placed in a psychiatric institution because prosecutors thought he was trying to steal Kierans’ identity.
If the state of California continues its push to collect that hospital bill, Keirans will be forced to pay. Keirans can appeal the court’s judgment.
Identity saga started at a southwestern hot dog stand
William Donald Woods’ life has been a whirlwind.
He spent almost two decades working on a hot dog cart in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Keirans was once a coworker.
Keirans stole Woods’ wallet in Nex Mexico, which may have contained his social security card. Woods said he walked up and put his fist in Keirans’ face, pleading with him to return the wallet.
Keirans later purchased cars, got married and had a child under the name William David Woods. He built a successful career, the court ruled, but did it under someone else’s name.
Woods, on the other hand, endured a life full of false accusations, imprisonment and confusion.
A routine bank transaction sets off whirlwind
The real Woods, after his tense encounter at the hot dog stand, led a relatively quiet life for the next 31 years.
Woods spent many years homeless or transient in California, New Mexico, Texas and elsewhere in the southwest. He often collects “pounds” of jewelry. He recalls selling hot dogs outside of New Mexico nightclubs years ago. He worked to earn a certification to work a tech job in San Diego years ago.
Everything changed when Woods entered a California bank and asked to close his accounts. He couldn’t answer the security questions that the bank required, prompting the institution to call the police.
Remarkably, Keirans, who was posing as Woods and had opened the accounts, pressed charges.
A California state court judge found Woods not competent enough to stand trial. He was sent to a California medical hospital, where he was administered psychotropic medication.
Woods kept telling people who he was. Nobody believed him.
In 2021, Woods pleaded “no contest” to felony charges in exchange for time served and immediate release. He spent 428 days in a county jail and 147 days in a mental hospital.
The court ordered that upon Woods’ release, he use only his “true name,” Matthew Keirans.
Why, Woods said, it wasn’t exactly clear.
The real Woods eventually called UI Health Care on Jan. 13, 2023, to inform them that Keirans was using his identity, kickstarting an investigation that would lead to Keirans’ guilty plea.
Judge delivers scathing remarks at sentencing
Friday’s sentencing was held in Cedar Rapids, at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Chief Judge C.J. Williams presided over the case, delivering a scathing review of the case, calling Kerians’ behavior “callous” and that the identity fraud was “unique, unusual and egregious.”
Williams emphasized several times that Keirans “weaponized the criminal justice system” against the real Woods. The judge said Keirans pushed prosecutors to charge Woods with a crime despite knowing that he could have revealed the decades-long plot and owned up to his crime. Keirans instead “manipulated” prosecutors in California to charge “an innocent man.”
Williams said that there was “not a shred of evidence” to indicate that Woods was aware of the money in the accounts Keirans had opened. The judge said there was no basis for Woods to face criminal prosecution.
He criticized Keirans’ statement to the court, in which he said, “I’d like to apologize to anyone I hurt,” and “I can’t change the past. I can’t do or say anything to make it right.” Keirans never mentioned Woods by name, which the judge said showed a “lack of remorse for his actions.”
Williams was critical of Keirans and the California prosecutors who imprisoned Woods. The judge said Keirans “continuously and doggedly” prodded prosecutors about the progress of the investigations and court cases against Woods, depriving Woods of “priceless” freedom.
“But for the defendant’s insistence, Woods would not have been prosecuted,” Williams said
Williams admitted that there is no evidence to suggest that Keirans abused the UIHC systems throughout his role in the IT department.
The original motive for identity theft “seems clear,” Williams said, given a past history of crimes committed by Keirans under his given name.
UIPD detective praised for investigative work
University of Iowa Police Detective Ian Mallory was praised by government prosecutors and the judge for his work in uncovering the fraud. Mallory told reporters after Friday’s hearing that the case was a career milestone.
“I am honored to give a voice back to a member of a vulnerable community,” Mallory said.
Keirans approached Mallory early in the investigation to tell his side of the story. Mallory said Keirans inspired him to dig deeper because he told the detective that he was “not going to be able to help me.”
Mallory said Keirans maintained that he was the real Woods during a lengthy interview. The discussion allowed UIPD to uncover DNA evidence from Woods, Keirans and Woods’ father.
That’s when Keirans’ case began to “crumble,” Mallory said.
Mallory noted that he “definitely” felt Keirans try to manipulate him when the former UI employee tried to “pull on his heartstrings.”
Keirans, Mallory said, was an “extremely manipulative individual who is very skilled at getting people to believe what he wants.”
Woods lands on his feet after fraud case
Woods arrived at Friday’s sentencing in a light blue polo, a winter coat and a fresh shave, save for a lengthy mustache draped across his upper lip. The 56-year-old’s black hair blew in the wind when he stepped outside during a break.
Woods told reporters he is no longer homeless and is living with a “Mr. Kilmer,” who previously owned the hot dog stand he recalls fondly.
Woods currently works as a landscaper.
A documentarian accompanied Woods around the Cedar Rapids courthouse, where he met Mallory in person for the first time.
The Californian provided lengthy answers to reporters’ questions, recalling some specific details about events from decades ago.
“I’m just trying to make a life for myself,” Woods said.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: California man was jailed ‘for being myself’ during former UI employee’s identity fraud case
Reporting by Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
