Gazette Daily News Podcast: Thursday, April 4, 2024

– Former University of Iowa Hospital employee uses fake identity for 35 years

– Iowa’s government boards no longer are required to have gender balance

– Live Stream: The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse April 8

Episode Transcript

Coming up, a former University of Iowa Hospital employee used a fake identity for over 35 years

And later, Iowa’s government boards are no longer required to have a gender balance

Plus, how you can watch the total solar eclipse

Welcome to the Thursday, April 4 edition of the Gazette Daily News Podcast. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon.

First, a former University of Iowa Hospital employee pleaded guilty Monday to using another man’s identity for 35 years. The identity theft caused the other man to be falsely imprisoned for identity theft and sent to a mental hospital.

58-year-old Matthew David Keirans was convicted of one count of false statement to a National Credit Union Administration insured institution, which is punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison. Keirans was also convicted of one count of aggravated identity theft, which is punishable by up to two years in federal prison. Keirans worked as a systems architect at University of Iowa Hospital’s IT department from 2013 to July 20, 2023 when he was terminated for misconduct related to the identity theft investigation. Kierans worked under the name William Donald Woods, which was an alias Keirans had been using since 1988 when he worked with the real Woods at a hot dog cart in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1990, Keirans obtained a false Colorado ID card with Woods’ name and birthday. According to a plea agreement Keirans signed, he used Woods’ identity to obtain employment and insurance and he even paid taxes under Woods’ name. In 2012, Keirans fraudulently acquired a copy of Woods’ birth certificate from the state of Kentucky using information he found about Woods’ family on Ancestry.com.

In 2019, the real Woods was homeless and living in Los Angeles. Woods had discovered someone was using his credit and had accumulated a lot of debt. He went to a branch of the national bank. He didn’t want to pay the debt and asked for the account numbers so he could close them. Woods gave a bank employee his real Social Security card and his California ID card, which matched with the information the bank had on file. But Woods was unable to answer a series of security questions. So the bank called Keirans, whose phone number was connected to the account. Keirans correctly answered the security questions and told the bank no one in California should have access to the accounts. After the Los Angeles Police Department got involved, Woods was arrested and charged with identity theft and false impersonation under a misspelling of Keirans’ name. Throughout the judicial process, Woods insisted he was not Matthew Kierans. A judge ruled in February 2020 that Woods was not mentally competent to stand trial. He was sent to a mental hospital in California where he received psychotropic medication and other mental health treatment.

In March 2021, Woods pleaded no contest to the identity theft charges. This means he accepted the conviction but did not admit guilt. He was sentenced to two years with credit for the two years he had already served in the county jail and hospital. Woods was released. He was also ordered to pay $400 in fines and to stop using the name William Woods.

But Woods did not stop. He continued trying to regain his identity by filing customer disputes with financial organizations in an attempt to clear his credit report. He also reached out to multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Hartland Police Department in Wisconsin, where Keirans lived.

In January 2023, Woods reached out to the University of Iowa Hospitals’ security department after learning where Keirans was working. Woods was referred to the University of Iowa Police Department where an investigation was opened by Detective Ian Mallory. Mallory found the biological father listed on Woods’ birth certificate, which both Woods and Keirans had sent Mallory. A DNA test proved Woods was the man’s son. On July 17, 2023 during an interview with Mallory, Keirans confessed to the identity theft.

A sentencing has not yet been scheduled. According to a news release, Keirans is currently in the custody of the U. S. Marshals Service.

On Wednesday, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law that would no longer require Iowa government boards and commissions to include an equal number of men and women. The law repeals a gender balance requirement that has been in place since 1988. During the bill-signing ceremony, Governor Reynolds said that as a state senator in 2009, she voted against an extension of the gender balance requirement because she believed it was unnecessary.

Reynolds said quote, “ I believed then, as I still do now, that our focus should always be on appointing the most qualified people, and that includes engaged citizens with a genuine interest in serving their state or local government, as well as individuals with valuable experience that directly relates to that position.” end quote.

Iowa experts say removing the gender balance requirement will likely result in fewer women serving on government boards and commissions, especially at the local level. Read the full story at the link in this episode’s description.

Finally, a solar eclipse will occur on April 8. Viewers in Cedar Rapids will be able to see a partial eclipse, but other parts of the country will see a total eclipse. That day, the Gazette will have a live stream available for viewing. The eclipse start time in Cedar Rapids will be 12:46 p.m. Maximum coverage will be reached at 2:01 p.m. and the eclipse will end at 3:16 p.m. Find the live stream at the link in this episode’s description.

As always, you can find a link to each of the stories featured in today’s episode in this episode’s description or at the gazette dot com.

Now, let’s take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today will be another windy day. Expect a high of 45 degrees and a low of 28 degrees. Friday will be partly cloudy. Expect a high of 50 degrees and a low of 28 degrees.

Thank you for listening to the Gazette Daily News Podcast. Stay up to date with the latest news from Eastern Iowa at the gazette dot com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com