Attorney Prim F. Escalona | U.S. Department of Justice
The former CEO of a Birmingham IT company, Thomas Aaron Kane, has been charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud. The charges are related to alleged schemes to defraud customers and a Covid-19 relief program. U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis announced the indictment.
The United States District Court filed a nineteen-count indictment against Kane, 44, including twelve counts of wire fraud for allegedly defrauding customers, five counts related to 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. These companies provided IT services primarily to businesses in the healthcare sector. The indictment alleges that between July 2017 and December 2021, Kane used customer credit card and banking information for unauthorized charges under false pretenses.
Additionally, between April 2020 and May 2021, Kane is accused of making false representations to secure over $625,000 through three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the Small Business Administration. He also attempted to obtain two more PPP loans totaling over $450,000 by submitting false tax documents.
The indictment further accuses Kane of money laundering by using $150,000 in PPP funds to repay a previous victim involved in his unauthorized-charges scheme. Moreover, he is charged with bankruptcy fraud for withdrawing funds from a business account during bankruptcy proceedings.
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison; money laundering carries up to ten years; and bankruptcy fraud can result in up to five years in prison.
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 handling the prosecution.
It is important to note that an indictment contains only charges; a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
