Identity theft

Innocent in a mental hospital, perpetrator unmasked

Symbolic image

(Bild: AFP)

Serious identity theft! William Woods ended up on the street because of debts and then even in a lunatic asylum in Los Angeles. 

The authorities accused the Californian of actually being called Matthew Keirans and stealing Woods' identity. Only now is the 57-year-old finally getting justice, and the real Matthew Keirans is facing 32 years in prison.

Woods ended up on the street in 2019 because he could no longer get credit due to alleged credit card debts of over 100,000 dollars. When he went to the bank headquarters with his social security card and California driver's license, he was unable to answer the security questions. The bank manager called the police. The cops found out that, according to the bank, the "real" Williams Woods lived in Wisconsin.

Matthew Keirans lived as William Woods for a long time. He used his identity to accumulate debts. He faces up to 32 years in prison for identity theft.

(Bild: police)

Forged documents
He faxed his forged birth certificate and other forged identification documents to the officials and identified the "fraudster" in Los Angeles as Matthew Keirans. He had run a hot dog stand with him in New Mexico in 1988.

Woods claimed that the man in Wisconsin was lying and that it was the other way around. No one believed him. He ended up on the street. When he tried to track down the fake William Wood in Iowa, the encounter ended in the insane asylum. When the real Woods confronted the real Matthew Keirans, the latter immediately called the police and had the "madman" arrested.

A DNA test finally cleared up the misunderstanding. The charges against the real Woods were dropped.