Indictment — United States v. Thomas Aaron Kane, Northern District of Alabama (Document 1)
Summary
A grand jury Indictment in United States v. Thomas Aaron Kane, Case 2:24-cr-00476-MHH-GMB, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division, filed November 27, 2024. Counts One through Twelve charge wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, alleging that Kane, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC and Keepitsimple.us LLC, made unauthorized charges to medical and dental practice customers' cards and bank accounts. Counts Thirteen through Seventeen charge wire fraud over PPP loans, alleging that Kane falsely certified to Lender #1 and Lender #2 that no other PPP applications were pending, receiving $193,900, $208,051 and $225,000. It alleges that Kane used $150,000 of the $208,051 loan to repay a prior customer. The forfeiture allegation covers Counts One through Eighteen.
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“Indictment — United States v. Thomas Aaron Kane, Northern District of Alabama (Document 1).”
Original at ecf.alnd.uscourts.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/indictment-usa-v-kane-dkt-1-7007be7de7/
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Case 2:24-cr-00476-MHH-GMB Document 1 Filed 11/27/24 Page 1 of 17 FILED
2024 Dec-03 AM 10:33
PFE/RSR: Dec. U.S.
2024DISTRICT COURT
GJ# 12 N.D. OF ALABAMA
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
v. ) No.
)
THOMAS AARON KANE, )
)
Defendant. )
INDICTMENT
The Grand Jury charges:
INTRODUCTION
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Defendant THOMAS AARON KANE was the Owner and Chief
Executive Officer of Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC and
Keepitsimple.us LLC, both of which were information technology businesses
located in Jefferson County, within the Northern District of Alabama.
2. KANE formed Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC, also
known as Keep IT Simple, in Jefferson County, Alabama on or about September 1,
2015. Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC provided information technology
services and support for businesses, mostly businesses in the healthcare industry.
According to KANE, Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC was dissolved on
December 31, 2020.
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3. KANE formed Keepitsimple.us LLC on or about May 26, 2020.
According to its Operating Agreement, the purpose of Keepitsimple.us LLC was to
“Service, Support, and Provide IT, VOIP, Web Design, and Online Marketing
Products and Services for the Healthcare Industry.” According to KANE,
Keepitsimple.us LLC assumed operations on January 1, 2021.
4. The business model for Keep Information Technology Simple, LLC
and Keepitsimple.us LLC (collectively, “KITS”) was to require payment from its
customers using a credit card on file or banking information on file that would be
used to pay a monthly contractual rate for services. Additionally, if a customer
needed additional service or equipment, KITS would provide an invoice for the
service or equipment, and, if authorized by the customer, KITS would use the credit
card or financial information on file to charge the customer.
5. Business #1 is a medical practice in Columbiana, Alabama.
6. Business #2 is a medical practice in Birmingham, Alabama.
7. Business #3 is a dental practice in Trussville, Alabama.
8. Business #4 is a medical practice in Huntsville, Alabama.
COUNTS ONE through TWELVE
Wire Fraud
[18 U.S.C. § 1343]
9. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 8 are hereby
repeated, realleged, and incorporated by reference, as if fully set forth herein.
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10. From at least July 2017 to in or around December 2021, in Jefferson
County, within the Northern District of Alabama, and elsewhere, the defendant,
THOMAS AARON KANE,
knowingly devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud customers
of KITS, and to obtain money and property from customers of KITS by means of
materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
PURPOSE OF THE SCHEME AND ARTIFICE
11. It was a purpose of the scheme and artifice for KANE to unlawfully
enrich himself by charging without authorization customers’ credit cards or bank
accounts that had been placed on file with KITS.
MANNER AND MEANS
12. It was part of the scheme that KANE would enter into a service contract
with his customers, which would require monthly payment from customers using a
credit card on file or banking information on file. Additionally, if a customer needed
additional service or equipment, KITS would provide an invoice for the service or
equipment, and, if authorized by the customer, KITS would use the credit card or e-
check on file to charge the customer.
13. It was further part of the scheme that KANE began making
unauthorized charges using his customers’ payment information on file.
3
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14. It was further part of the scheme that when customers would complain
or ask about these unauthorized charges, KANE would attempt to conceal his
conduct by inventing an excuse, such as stating that there had been an inadvertent
double charge, an accounting/billing error had occurred, or some unidentifiable
person within the company had made a mistake. In fact, as KANE well knew, no
billing error had occurred, and there was no accounting department responsible for
such an error.
15. It was further part of the scheme that when a customer would question
specific charges, KANE would often create false invoices that he would send to the
customer purporting to be a valid invoice.
16. It was further part of the scheme that KANE would create email address
accounts for customers that he would place on documentation to give his records an
appearance of legitimacy.
17. It was further part of the scheme that KANE would often provide
refunds to customers who had caught him in his fraud. KANE did this in an effort
to placate these victims and permit him to continue his fraudulent scheme.
18. It was further part of the scheme that KANE would intentionally default
on lawsuits that customers brought against him.
19. It was further part of the scheme that KANE established
Keepitsimple.us LLC in or around May 2020. Then, according to KANE, Keep IT
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Simple ceased operations on or about December 31, 2020, and Keepitsimple.us
began operations on or about January 1, 2021.
20. It was further part of the scheme that after KANE established
Keepitsimple.us LLC, he continued to engage in the same conduct described herein.
The Wire Communications
21. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 20 are hereby
repeated, realleged, and incorporated by reference for each count below, as if fully
set forth therein.
22. On or about each of the dates listed below, within the Northern District
of Alabama, and elsewhere, the defendant,
THOMAS AARON KANE,
for the purpose of executing the above-described scheme and artifice, did transmit
and cause to be transmitted in interstate commerce, by means of a wire
communication, certain signs, signals, and communications described below for
each count, each transmission constituting a separate count:
Count Approximate Date Victim Description of Wire
of Transaction
1 December 17, 2019 Business #1 $7,040.00 charge from Business #1’s bank
account ending in -9028 to Keep IT Simple
2 November 16, 2020 Business #1 $7,163.20 charge from Business #1’s bank
account ending in -9028 to
Keepitsimple.us, LLC
3 January 29, 2021 Business #1 $8,811.00 charge from Business #1’s bank
account ending in -9028 to
Keepitsimple.us, LLC
5
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4 October 5, 2020 Business #2 $2,748.90 charge from Business #2’s bank
account ending in -1641 to
Keepitsimple.us, LLC
5 October 6, 2020 Business #2 $5,600.01 charge from Business #2’s bank
account ending in -1641 to
Keepitsimple.us, LLC
6 October 6, 2020 Business #2 $7,646.08 charge from Business #2’s bank
account ending in -1641 to
Keepitsimple.us, LLC
7 June 4, 2021 Business #3 $1,420.10 charge on Business #3’s credit
card ending in -8142 to Keepitsimple.us
LLC
8 June 15, 2021 Business #3 $2,013.91 charge on Business #3’s credit
card ending in -8142 to Keepitsimple.us
LLC
9 July 12, 2021 Business #3 $1,755.60 charge on Business #3’s credit
card ending in -8142 to Keepitsimple.us
LLC
10 August 12, 2021 Business #4 $4,510.63 charge from Business #4’s bank
account ending in -2756 to
Keepitsimple.us LLC
11 November 23, 2021 Business #4 $3,100.23 charge from Business #4’s bank
account ending in -2756 to
Keepitsimple.us LLC
12 December 22, 2021 Business #4 $3,998.50 charge from Business #4’s bank
account ending in -2756 to
Keepitsimple.us LLC
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
COUNTS THIRTEEN through SEVENTEEN
Wire Fraud
[18 U.S.C. § 1343 & 1349]
23. The United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) was an
executive branch agency of the United States government that provided support to
entrepreneurs and small businesses.
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24. The SBA enabled and provided for loans through banks, credit unions,
and other lenders. These loans had government-backed guarantees. In addition to
traditional SBA funding programs, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security (“CARES”) Act established several new temporary programs and provided
for the expansion of others to address the COVID-19 pandemic, which was declared
a nationwide disaster by the President on March 13, 2020.
25. One of the new programs was the SBA Paycheck Protection Program
(“PPP”), which was a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses
to keep their workers on the payroll. Under this program, the SBA could forgive all
or part of loans if employees were kept on the payroll for eight weeks and borrowers
submitted documentation confirming the loan proceeds were used for certain
qualifying business expenses (i.e., payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities).
26. Interested applicants applied through an existing SBA lender or any
other participating federally insured financial institution. The PPP application
process required applicants to submit a Borrower Application Form through an
SBA-approved financial entity. The application contained information as to the
purpose of the loan, average monthly payroll, number of employees, and background
of the business and its owner. Applicants were also required to make certain good
faith certifications, including that economic uncertainty had necessitated their loan
requests for continued business operations, and that they intended to use the loan
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proceeds only for the authorized purposes. Applicants were also required to certify
that the information provided in the application and all supporting documentation is
true and correct in all material respects and that knowingly making a false statement
to obtain the loan is punishable under federal law.
27. Lender #1 was an SBA-approved PPP lender headquartered in
Pennsylvania.
28. Lender #2 was an SBA-approved PPP lender headquartered in New
York.
The Scheme and Artifice
29. Beginning on or about April 4, 2020, and continuing to on or about May
5, 2021, within Jefferson County, in the Northern District of Alabama, and
elsewhere, defendant
THOMAS AARON KANE
devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the United States,
the SBA, and others, and to obtain money and property belonging to the United
States, the SBA, and others, by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses,
representations, and promises.
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Purpose of the Scheme and Artifice
30. It was a purpose of the scheme and artifice for KANE, by submitting
false PPP loan applications, to unlawfully obtain PPP funds to which he was not
entitled, in violation of the terms of the PPP loan agreements.
Manner and Means
31. It was a part of the scheme and artifice that on or about April 4, 2020,
KANE applied for a PPP loan in the amount of $193,900 from Lender #1 on behalf
of his business, Keep Information Technology Simple LLC. Then, on or about April
15, 2020, KANE falsely represented to Lender #1 in a Paycheck Protection Program
Certification that Keep Information Technology Simple LLC did not have any other
PPP loan applications pending, when KANE knew that he had submitted a PPP loan
application on behalf of Keep Information Technology Simple LLC to Lender #2
just one day prior.
32. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that KANE caused an
electronic transfer of $193,900 from Lender #1 into Keep Information Technology
Simple’s bank account in Birmingham, Alabama.
33. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that on or about
December 24, 2020, KANE submitted a PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form
seeking forgiveness of the April 2020 PPP loan with Lender #1.
34. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that on or about January
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15, 2021, KANE applied for a PPP loan in the amount of $208,051 from Lender #2
on behalf of his business, Keep Information Technology Simple LLC. In his
application, KANE certified that these “funds will be used to retain workers and
maintain payroll; or make payments for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, covered
operations expenditures, covered property damage costs, covered supplier costs, and
covered worker protection expenditures as specified under the Paycheck Protection
Program Rules.”
35. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that KANE caused an
electronic transfer of $208,051 into Keep Information Technology Simple’s bank
account in Birmingham, Alabama as a result of the false and fraudulent January 2021
PPP loan application to Lender #2.
36. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that despite certifying in
his January 15, 2021 application that the funds would only be used for authorized
purposes, KANE received $208,051 from Lender #2 on or about May 5, 2021 and
then used $150,000 of these PPP funds to repay a prior customer on the same date.
37. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that on or about January
10, 2022, KANE submitted a PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form seeking
forgiveness of the January 2021 PPP loan with Lender #2.
38. It was a part of the scheme and artifice that on or about January 19,
2021, KANE applied for a PPP loan in the amount of $225,000 from Lender #1 on
10
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behalf of his business, Keep Information Technology Simple LLC. It was a further
part of the scheme and artifice that on or about February 27, 2021, KANE falsely
represented to Lender #1 in a Paycheck Protection Program Certification that Keep
Information Technology Simple LLC did not have any other second draw PPP loan
applications pending, when KANE knew that he had submitted a second draw PPP
loan application on behalf of Keep Information Technology Simple LLC to Lender
#2 just a few days prior. Additionally, KANE certified that his business had not and
would not receive another PPP loan, other than the first draw PPP Loan from Lender
#1. As KANE knew, this certification was false, as KANE had obtained a first draw
PPP Loan from Lender #2 in 2020.
39. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that KANE would and
did cause an electronic transfer of $225,000 from Lender #1 into Keep Information
Technology Simple’s bank account in Birmingham, Alabama.
40. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that KANE would and
did submit a PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form seeking forgiveness of the
February 2021 PPP loan with Lender #1.
41. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that on or about February
17, 2021, KANE applied for a PPP loan in the amount of $225,000 from Lender #2
on behalf of his business, Keepitsimple.us LLC. This PPP loan application contained
material misrepresentations and fraudulent supporting documentation, examples of
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which include:
a. KANE certified that this business was established on September 1,
2015 and that this business was in operation on February 15, 2020.
KANE knew this information was false, as Keepitsimple.us LLC was
not established until May 26, 2020.
b. KANE submitted a false 2019 and 2020 IRS Form 941 (Employer’s
Quarterly Federal Tax Returns) purportedly from Keepitsimple.us
LLC. As KANE knew, these documents were false, as Keepitsimple.us
did not file an IRS Form 941 with the IRS in 2019 or 2020.
42. It was a further part of the scheme and artifice that on or about March
8, 2021, KANE applied for a PPP loan in the amount of $230,000 from Lender #2
on behalf of his business, Keepitsimple.us LLC. This PPP loan application contained
material misrepresentations and fraudulent supporting documentation, examples of
which include:
a. KANE certified that this business was established on September 1,
2015 and that this business was in operation on February 15, 2020.
KANE knew this information was false, as Keepitsimple.us LLC was
not established until May 26, 2020.
b. KANE submitted a false 2019 and 2020 IRS Form 941 (Employer’s
Quarterly Federal Tax Returns) purportedly from Keepitsimple.us
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LLC. As KANE knew, these documents were false, as Keepitsimple.us
did not file an IRS Form 941 with the IRS in 2019 or 2020.
The Wire Communications
43. The allegations contained in paragraphs 23 through 42 are hereby
repeated, realleged, and incorporated by reference for each count below, as if fully
set forth therein.
44. On or about the dates listed below, in Jefferson County, within the
Northern District of Alabama, and elsewhere, the defendant,
THOMAS AARON KANE,
for the purpose of executing the scheme and artifice described above and attempting
to do so, knowingly and intentionally transmitted and caused to be transmitted by
means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce the writings,
signs, signals, pictures, and sounds described below, each transmission constituting
a separate count:
COUNT APPROXIMATE DESCRIPTION OF WIRE
DATE OF WIRE
A wire transfer in the amount of $193,900 in
PPP loan funds, sent from Lender #1 to a Keep
13 April 16, 2020
Information Technology Simple LLC bank
account in the Northern District of Alabama
A wire transfer in the amount of $225,000 in
PPP loan funds, sent from Lender #1 to a Keep
14 February 8, 2021
Information Technology Simple LLC bank
account in the Northern District of Alabama
False application to Lender #2 for PPP loan in
15 February 17, 2021
the amount of $225,000
13
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False application to Lender #2 for PPP loan in
16 March 8, 2021
the amount of $230,000
A wire transfer in the amount of $208,051 in
PPP loan funds, sent from Lender #2 to a
17 May 5, 2021
Keepitsimple.us LLC bank account in the
Northern District of Alabama
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1349.
COUNT EIGHTEEN
Unlawful Monetary Transaction
[18 U.S.C. § 1957]
45. On or about May 5, 2021, in the Northern District of Alabama, and
elsewhere, the defendant,
THOMAS AARON KANE,
knowingly engaged in and attempted to engage in a monetary transaction by,
through, and to a financial institution, affecting interstate or foreign commerce, in
criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000, that is, a $150,000.00
payment to a prior victim, such property being derived from a specified unlawful
activity, that is, wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
1343.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.
14
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COUNT NINETEEN
Bankruptcy Fraud
[18 U.S.C. § 152(5)]
46. On or about December 31, 2021, Keep Information Technology
Simple, LLC filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the
United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District
of Alabama. This petition was given Case Number 21-02987-TOM11.
47. On or about December 31, 2021, Keepitsimple.us LLC also filed a
voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Code in the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. This petition
was given Case Number 21-02986-DSC11.
48. These two petitions were consolidated for procedural purposes and
were jointly administered by the Court under Case Number 21-02986-DSC-11.
49. The filing of a bankruptcy petition by these debtors created a
bankruptcy estate that included all legal and equitable interests of the debtors in
property as of the commencement of the cases.
50. On or about April 18, 2022, KANE withdrew $20,941.66 via Cashier’s
Check from a Keepitsimple.us bank account at Regions Bank. That same day,
KANE deposited the proceeds from this Cashier’s Check into his personal bank
account at Chase Bank ending in -0251.
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51. On or about April 18, 2022, in the Northern District of Alabama, and
elsewhere, the defendant,
THOMAS AARON KANE,
did knowingly and fraudulently receive from Keepitsimple.us LLC, Debtor, in the
case filed December 31, 2021 under Title 11 of the United States Code in the United
States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Case Number 21-
02986-DSC11, a material amount of property, that is, a Cashier’s Check in the
amount of $20,941.66, with intent to defeat the provisions of Title 11.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 152(5).
NOTICE OF FORFEITURE
[18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(1)(C), 982(a)(2)(A), and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c)]
1. The allegations contained in Counts One through Eighteen of this
Indictment are re-alleged and incorporated by reference for the purpose of alleging
forfeitures pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(A) and (C),
982(a)(1)-(2), and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c).
2. Upon conviction of the offenses in violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Sections 1343 and/or 1957, set forth in Counts One through Eighteen of this
Indictment, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to Title 18,
United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(C), 982(a)(2)(A), and Title 28, United States
Code, Section 2461(c), any and all property constituting, or derived from, proceeds
the defendant obtained directly or indirectly, as a result of the commission of said
16
Case 2:24-cr-00476-MHH-GMB Document 1 Filed 11/27/24 Page 17 of 17
offenses, including but not limited to, a sum of money in United States currency
representing the amount of proceeds traceable to the commission of said offenses.
3. If any of the above-described forfeitable property, as a result of any act
or omission of the defendant:
a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;
c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or
e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided
without difficulty;
the United States shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property, pursuant to
Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United
States Code, Section 982(b)(1) and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c).
A TRUE BILL
/s/ Electronic Signature______________
FOREPERSON OF THE GRAND JURY
PRIM F. ESCALONA
United States Attorney
/s/ Electronic Signature_______
RYAN S. RUMMAGE
Assistant United States Attorney
17
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