Two men pleaded guilty in federal court to fraudulently receiving COVID-19 unemployment benefits while incarcerated in Mississippi, according to court records. Kev’Veonta Short and Travis Thorn were convicted last week in separate cases in the Southern District of Mississippi of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both are expected to be sentenced in the coming months.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The benefits were federally subsidized through the CARES Act during the pandemic, but incarcerated individuals were ineligible to receive the money, prosecutors said.
Short, 32, of Natchez, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for submitting false unemployment insurance claims while imprisoned at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution. Court records show he applied for benefits through the Mississippi Department of Employment Security between May and July 2020, during which time he was serving time for cocaine possession and aggravated assault. Short was discharged from prison in 2022 and is scheduled for sentencing in July.
According to the indictment, Short and other inmates transferred the stolen benefits to each other using reloadable debit cards, Way2Go Cards, and CashApp. Court documents indicate that within two weeks in May 2020, a dozen incarcerated people submitted unemployment benefit applications, including Short. Several co-conspirators, including Adrian Wilson and Aaron Sanders, pleaded guilty in February and remain incarcerated. Wilson is set for sentencing in June, while Vicki Page faces trial in April for allegedly receiving over $7,000 in fraudulent benefits and transferring them via CashApp.
Thorn, 45, of Monroe, Louisiana, also pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He admitted to working with an unindicted co-conspirator to fraudulently obtain about $13,500 in unemployment benefits while in prison. Court records state Thorn provided personal information to apply for benefits, and the co-conspirator used his details to submit the application with a Gulfport address. Thorn received approximately $3,400 in state benefits and $10,200 in federal unemployment compensation, which were transferred to him through his commissary fund. Thorn was serving time for burglary and aggravated assault in 2020, was released on probation in March 2025, and was under federal supervision in Louisiana.
The investigation was led by the FBI, Mississippi State Auditor’s Office, U.S. Department of Labor, and the Office of the Inspector General. Auditor Shad White launched Operation Payback in May 2024 to target pandemic-related unemployment fraud. The operation has resulted in multiple convictions, including a recent 15-year sentence and restitution for Kenjarell Thomas, who received benefits while incarcerated, according to White.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
