- This story is strange, entertaining, and terrifying in equal measure.
Imagine finding out you are no longer you. Someone else has been living with your name for decades, and no one believes that you are the real you anymore.
That’s what happened to William Woods.
Nearly four decades ago, Matthew Keirans stole Woods’ social security card while the two were coworkers. With it, he was able to slowly but surely take over Woods’ entire identity.
Posing as Woods, Keirans built a whole other life for himself. He took out loans, got married and had kids, and acquired a well-paying job.
Meanwhile, the real William Woods was going through endless hard times and had no idea someone was using his identity. When he finally found out more than 30 years later, he tried to expose the imposter — but nobody believed him.
Instead, Woods himself was sent to jail for attempted identity fraud, finally landing in a mental institution. After all, he had to be insane for claiming to be someone he’s not, right?
Finally, a private detective was able to track down Woods’ real father. A DNA test proved that he really was William Woods.
Now, Keirans has been sentenced to jail. Woods is finally himself again and trying to pick up the pieces after decades of someone pretending to be him.
Becoming Woods
This outlandish case began in 1988. At the time, both Keirans and Woods were struggling with life but had managed to get jobs at the same hot dog stand in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
One day, Keirans stole Woods’ wallet. He later returned it once Woods politely but firmly informed Keirans that he’d beat him up if he didn’t.
However, Keirans had found Woods’ social security card in the wallet. He had copied the information and used it to get a driver’s license.
Now, Keirans had an official document with his face but Wood’s name on it. At that moment, he decided he would become William Woods.
After 1988, there is not a single record of Matthew Keirans in any official capacity. He assumed Woods’ identity completely, starting a new life.
And it was a good life, too. He met a woman and got married. The couple needed a house, so he acquired a mortgage.
Then, they had a child. He needed to provide for his family, and he managed to get a well-paying job at the University of Iowa Hospital, earning more than $100,000 a year.
He did it all as William Woods.
Help from a YouTuber
Meanwhile, the real William Woods was going through hard times. He was homeless and earning so little money every year that he never needed to file taxes.
As such, he had no hope of getting a credit card, loans, or anything of the sort. He simply couldn’t have known that someone was living it up in his name.
Things took a small turn for the better in 2015 when he was featured in a series of videos by FouseyTube. The YouTuber gave Woods food, got him a hotel room, and gave him some money.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Woods decided to try and get back up on his feet. He paid for a credit monitoring service and, oh boy, was he in for a shock.
He found that his credit score was quite good, actually, because he had been taking loans and paying them off for years. Except that wasn’t really him, so Woods marched to a bank in California to get some answers and regain control of his credit report.
Forcefully Incarcerated and Medicated
However, nobody believed Woods was the real William Woods. He couldn’t provide any details about his accounts or answer security questions — because Keirans had set all that up.
The bank alerted the police, suspecting identity fraud. Only, they believed Woods was the fraudster.
This started a years-long legal struggle that ultimately landed Woods in jail. Keirans claimed Woods was some nutjob out to steal money from him, and the police were inclined to believe him over the homeless guy who couldn’t prove his identity.
To add insult to injury, the legal system somehow came to believe that the real William Woods was actually Matthew Keirans.
Woods wanted to call his relatives to help them verify his identity, but the police wouldn’t let him. Long story short, Woods landed in prison for identity fraud.
He spent a total of 428 days. At that point, due to his constant insistence that he was William Woods and disparaging statements from Keirans, he was admitted against his will to a mental hospital. He would stay there for another 147 days before being released following a no-contest plea.
DNA Results
Free from both jail and hospital, Woods started an uphill battle to regain his identity. It wasn’t easy, as still nobody believed him and Keirans was doing everything he could to paint Woods as off his rocker.
At some point, Woods was able to hire a private detective. The sleuth tracked down Woods’ biological father, based on information from his birth certificate, and asked the man to provide a DNA sample.
He agreed. And what do you know?
DNA evidence indicated that the crazy homeless guy actually was William Woods. Meanwhile, the well-off man who had claimed to be William Woods was revealed to be Matthew Keirans.
That blew the case right open. The family of Keirans, who have always known him as Woods, was shocked, describing him to the media as “kind and dependable.”
Yet, the fact was, his entire life was built on a lie. In April 2025, Keirans was sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated identity theft and making false statements to the National Credit Union Administration. This month, a federal appeals court upheld the sentence.
“My life is over,” he said at the time.
The real William Woods is now back in Albuquerque, where it all began. He has a job as a landscaper and said he will be seeking compensation for his wrongful imprisonment and medication.