A Louisiana man has admitted in federal court that he conspired to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related unemployment benefits while serving time in a Mississippi prison.
According to a Tuesday news release from the Department of Justice, Travis Thorn, 45, of Monroe, La., pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors said Thorn worked with another individual to submit fraudulent unemployment claims to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security while he was incarcerated with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
As an inmate, Thorn was not eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits. Authorities said some of the fraudulently obtained funds were deposited into his prison commissary account.
The benefits were funded through the CARES Act, the federal pandemic relief law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance and expand unemployment eligibility during the COVID-19 crisis.
A federal grand jury indicted Thorn last March. He now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A U.S. District Court judge will determine his sentence after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. His sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2026.
At the time of the crime, Thorn was serving a state prison sentence for burglary and aggravated assault. He was later released on probation.
The case was announced by U.S. 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’s Southeast Region.
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 prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task Force, a multi-agency initiative formed to combat widespread fraud in pandemic-era unemployment programs. The task force brings together federal agencies and state partners nationwide to investigate and prosecute unemployment insurance fraud.
