Home / Crime and Justice / Suspended GA Rep Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud
Suspended GA Rep Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud
31 Jul
Summary
- Lawmaker pleaded guilty to false statements for $17,811 in benefits.
- She claimed employment for benefits despite not working for years.
- Three Georgia lawmakers now convicted of similar fraud schemes.
A suspended Georgia lawmaker, Sharon Henderson, 67, admitted to defrauding the pandemic unemployment program of $17,811. Henderson pleaded guilty on July 30, 2026, to making false statements to unlawfully obtain federal benefits. She had falsely identified Henry County Schools as her current employer when she applied for aid in June 2020, despite her employment there ending in 2018 after just five substitute teaching days. This employment history was the basis for her claim. Prosecutors noted that substitute teachers were explicitly ineligible for unemployment benefits according to their agreements.
Henderson submitted eight fraudulent weekly certifications in June 2021, even after being sworn in as a representative for District 113. These certifications falsely stated a COVID-19 quarantine prevented her from working. Her conviction follows similar cases involving two other former Georgia state representatives, Karen Bennett and Dexter Sharper, who also pleaded guilty to pandemic unemployment fraud. Henderson's suspension from the Georgia House remains in effect pending her sentencing, scheduled for November 3, 2026.
