Not really a good news story, although it’s good news for the victim in the end.
Think I am going to be bookmark this to show people how damaging Identity theft can be, and why being proactive with your data is important.
On top of using Woods’ identity to commit crimes and rack up debt, Kierans’ elaborate identity theft scheme led to Woods’ incarceration after Kierans’ accused his victim of identity theft and Los Angeles authorities failed to detect which man was the true William Donald Woods. Kierans could face up to 32 years in prison, The Register reported, and must pay a $1.25 million fine.
Woods only discovered the identity theft in 2019, when he was homeless and discovered that he inexplicably had $130,000 in debt to his name. Woods attempted to close bank accounts that Kierans had opened in Woods’ name, and that’s when Kierans went on the defense, successfully pushing to get Woods arrested to conceal Kierans’ decades of identity theft.
Ultimately, in March 2021, Woods was convicted of the felony charges and after his release, he was ordered to “use only” what California decided was his “true name, Matthew Kierans.” In total, Woods spent 428 days in jail and 147 days in a mental hospital because California officials failed to detect his true identity.