Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Committing COVID Relief Fraud While in Prison — Southern District of Mississippi, February 27, 2026

Summary

A press release from Gulfport, MS announcing that Travis Thorn, 45, of Monroe, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for conspiring with another individual to obtain COVID-19 unemployment insurance benefits from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security while he was an inmate in the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). According to court documents and statements made in court, some of the funds were applied to Thorn’s commissary account. The release states that a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Thorn on March 19, 2025, that he is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2026, and that the maximum statutory term of imprisonment is 20 years. United States Attorney Baxter Kruger and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White were among those who made the announcement.

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Full text

Gulfport, MS – A Louisiana man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to conspiring with another individual to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits related to the COVID-19 pandemic while he was in prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Travis Thorn, 45, of Monroe, Louisiana, conspired with another individual to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. As an inmate in the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), Thorn was not entitled to receive unemployment insurance benefits. Some of the funds were applied to Thorn’s commissary account.

The unemployment insurance benefits were federally subsidized through the CARES Act in response to the pandemic.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Thorn on March 19, 2025. Thorn pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2026. The maximum statutory term of imprisonment is 20 years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Baxter Kruger, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, and Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region made the announcement.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force (NUIFTF). In response to the unprecedented scope of Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud, the Department of Justice established the NUIFTF. The NUIFTF is a prosecutor-led multi-agency task force with representatives from FBI, DOL-OIG, IRS-CI, HSI, DHS-OIG, USPIS, USSS, SSA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and other agencies. Members of the NUIFTF are working with state workforce agencies, financial institutions, and other law enforcement partners across the country to fight UI fraud, and consumers should be vigilant in light of these threats and take the appropriate steps to safeguard themselves.

The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization that expands states’ ability to provide unemployment insurance for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who are not ordinarily eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

Anyone with information about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866‑720‑5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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