ATLANTA — A Georgia state House member is accused of lying about her employment to collect federal unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
Rep. Sharon Henderson, a Covington Democrat, has been indicted on two counts of theft of government funds and ten counts of making false statements, prosecutors announced Monday.
A phone call and text message to Henderson seeking comment were not immediately returned Monday. She was scheduled to make an initial appearance Monday in federal court in Atlanta.
Henderson is accused of illegally collecting $17,811 in unemployment benefits. U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement that Henderson falsely claimed in 2019 that she was entitled to benefits as a laid-off substitute teacher in Henry County, southeast of Atlanta. But Hertzberg said Henderson hadn’t worked for the school system since 2018 and her contract included an acknowledgment that substitute teachers aren’t entitled to unemployment payments.
Prosecutors say Henderson falsely claimed that she had worked for the school system throughout 2019 and into 2020 and then submitted weekly certifications, including eight in June 2021, after she had won election and was sworn into office in House District 13, which covers parts of Newton County.
The federal government paid special unemployment benefits during the pandemic, using state unemployment systems, to people who lost their jobs due to COVID-19. As with regular unemployment benefits, applicants had to certify every week that they remained unemployed to claim benefits.
State and federal agencies investigated the case.
After losing primary bids for the House in 2016 and 2018, Henderson defeated incumbent Pam Dickerson in a primary in 2020. She won the general election without Republican opposition in 2020 and won reelection in 2022 and 2024.
