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A $17 million bank fraud case against Ed Whitehouse will not be going before a grand jury -- but he has been charged.

Rather than issuing an indictment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Hamilton filed an information against the Maryville businessman Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville that accuses him of three counts of defrauding banks of a total of $16,935,025.

Whitehouse was not immediately arrested.

David Eldridge, attorney for Whitehouse, said Friday his client was cooperating with authorities, precluding the need for a hearing before a grand jury and an indictment.

"Mr. Whitehouse made a decision several months ago to report his own conduct to the United States Attorney's Office and the banks involved and has cooperated with the resulting investigation ever since. He deeply regrets his actions and has reached an agreement to resolve these charges," Eldridge said.

Whitehouse was owner of the now defunct Maryville-based firms of Medical Data Specialists, Resource Imaging, Data Management Services and Procynet, along with Direct IS in Knoxville and Basic Communications in Nashville. The firms, which abruptly collapsed in June 25, 2008, were primarily engaged in medical and computer hardware services.

The first count charges Whitehouse executed a scheme to defraud AmSouth Bank and its successor, Regions Bank, causing a loss of $14,189,749. The information claims Whitehouse provided the bank with bogus serial numbers for fraudulently represented licences for medical management software.

Count 2 charges Whitehouse defrauded BankEast of $950,567. The charges involve bogus software licenses as well as bogus service agreements, according to Hamilton.

Count 3 claims Clayton Bank and Trust lost $1,794,709 due to a scheme by Whitehouse involving nonexistent software licenses and service agreements that also never existed.

The information prepared by Hamilton states Whitehouse "knowingly executed a scheme and artifice to obtain moneys, funds, credits and assets owned by and under the custody and control of (Regions Bank) whose deposits were then insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises."

Hamilton's information states the fraud began around May 2005 and continued until about June 18, 2008.

The banks have sued in an attempt to regain their lost assets. Company property has been auctioned. Procynet has filed for bankruptcy. During questioning at a creditor meeting in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Whitehouse used the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination.