The former CEO of a Birmingham IT company faces charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.
Thomas Aaron Kane, 44, has been indicted on nineteen counts in the United States District Court. These include twelve counts of wire fraud related to defrauding customers, five counts associated with Covid-19 program fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of bankruptcy fraud.
Kane was the owner and CEO of Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC and later Keepitsimple.us LLC. Both companies provided IT services mainly to businesses in the healthcare sector. The indictment details four types of charges against Kane.
Firstly, from July 2017 to December 2021, Kane allegedly defrauded his customers by using their credit card or banking information for unauthorized charges. When questioned about these transactions, he reportedly cited excuses like accounting errors and sent false invoices.
Secondly, between April 2020 and May 2021, Kane is accused of falsely obtaining more than $625,000 through three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the Small Business Administration. He also attempted to secure two additional PPP loans worth over $450,000 for his second business by submitting false tax documents.
Thirdly, Kane is charged with money laundering involving an unlawful monetary transaction exceeding $10,000. Specifically, he used $150,000 in PPP funds to repay a previous victim.
Lastly, Kane allegedly committed bankruptcy fraud by withdrawing $20,941.66 from a Keepitsimple.us bank account and depositing it into a personal account despite these funds being part of the company's bankruptcy estate.
The penalties for these charges are severe: up to twenty years in prison for wire fraud; ten years for money laundering; and five years for bankruptcy fraud.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service with assistance from the Trussville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan S. Rummage is leading the prosecution.
It should be noted that an indictment only contains charges; a defendant remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.