> Man stole coworker's identity for decades, had victim institutionalized

https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/sen … es-upheld/ [Highly Credible Source (Conservative)]

A Wisconsin man who stole his coworker’s identity for decades lost an appeal that would have shortened his 12-year prison sentence.

Matthew Keirans, 59, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to making false statements and aggravated identity theft.

Keirans stole William Woods’ identity in the late 1980s, when the two worked together at a hot dog stand. Woods stated Keirans had stolen his wallet and used the information on Woods’ Social Security card to apply for a driver’s license in Woods name.

Court records document Keirans using Woods’ identity to build a new life, including a new career making $100,000 as an IT administrator, opening bank accounts and credit cards, marrying and having a child.

When Woods attempted to reclaim his identity in 2019, Keirans convinced police Woods was the imposter.

Following that, Woods was charged with identity theft and false impersonation, spending 428 days in jail and 147 days in a mental hospital, where he was medicated after a judge found him not competent to stand trial.

Woods continued to try to prove his identity after being released, and eventually, DNA evidence proved he was telling the truth and Keirans was the one who had stolen his identity.

The decades of living under Woods’ name and even giving his child Woods’ surname factored into the sentencing.