Politics
NEW: Democrat Lawmaker Indicted For Unemployment Fraud
Georgia state Rep. Sharon Henderson, a Democrat, has been indicted on two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements to investigators in connection with an alleged unemployment fraud scheme.
Henderson, who was first elected in 2020, represents the state’s 113th district, which encompasses parts of Newton County in the Covington area.
On Monday, December 8, the Democrat lawmaker was indicted by a federal ground jury in the Northern District of Georgia on two counts of theft of government funds and ten counts of making false statements, all related to alleged fraud in obtaining federal pandemic unemployment benefits. The charges stem from her application in June 2020 — while she was campaigning as a candidate for the House seat — for benefits under the federal COVID-19 relief programs administered through Georgia’s unemployment system.
According to the indictment, Henderson falsely claimed that Henry County Schools was her current employer and that she had been laid off due to the pandemic, asserting she had worked there through March 2020.
In reality, she had only served as a substitute teacher for five days in 2018 and had not worked for the district since then. Her substitute teacher contract explicitly stated that such positions did not entitle her to unemployment benefits, yet she submitted weekly certifications of continued unemployment, including eight such claims in June 2021 after she had been sworn into office, prosecutors allege.
As a result, she allegedly collected $17,811 in benefits to which she was not entitled, with the false statements forming the basis for the ten related counts, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Henderson was first elected in 2020, when she defeated Democrat incumbent Pam Dickerson in a tightly-contested primary
The investigation into pandemic unemployment fraud involving Georgia public officials appears to be ongoing and expansive, with U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore Hertzberg explicitly stating that additional indictments are likely forthcoming.
“There are more investigations that we’re engaged in and there are more indictments that are likely to follow of people currently serving in the Georgia State House,” Hertzberg said in an interview with local outlet WABE-FM. “We expect that our public officials and individuals who have been entrusted by the public to serve in elected office are not going to lie in order to steal money from people who are needy,” the U.S. attorney went on to say.
The case was jointly investigated by state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, suggesting broader scrutiny of similar claims by elected officials.
Henderson was taken into custody by federal agents at her home on Monday and later appeared in U.S. District Court in Atlanta that afternoon, where she pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand. She was released on $10,000 unsecured bond and declined to comment when approached by The Associated Press outside the courtroom.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp is required under Georgia law to convene a review commission — which will include the attorney general and legislative members — to assess whether the Democrat lawmaker should be suspended without pay pending resolution of the charges.
