Another Georgia Democrat Busted: Former Lawmaker Charged with COVID Unemployment Fraud
A Georgia Democratic state representative, Karen Bennett, resigned after being charged with unlawfully collecting about $14,000 in pandemic-era unemployment benefits. Bennett, a physical therapist who runs Metro Therapy Providers, saeid pandemic-related service curbs justified her claim, but court documents say she performed mainly administrative work from home, wasn’t prevented from working, and failed to disclose a church job that paid $905 per week. Another Democrat, Rep. Sharon Henderson, has been indicted separately for allegedly collecting about $17,100 from the same program; she denies wrongdoing and has not resigned. Prosecutors say Henderson’s claims that she’d been laid off were false given her limited prior work with the school district and an ineligible substitute contract. Both cases are part of a broader federal probe into some Georgia House members; a state panel on suspension has not yet been convened.
A Democratic Georgia lawmaker has resigned after she became the second Georgia Democrat in two months to be charged with fraud.
Former Democratic Rep. Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain resigned after being charged with grabbing $14,000 to which she was not entitled, according to the Georgia Recorder.
Democratic Rep. Sharon Henderson has been charged with taking $17,100 from the same pandemic-era program as Bennett. She has not resigned her seat.
Bennett has a doctorate in physical therapy and operates a company called Metro Therapy Providers. Bennett claimed she had been required to provide in-home physical therapy services that were curtailed by the pandemic.
Court documents dispute that.
BREAKING: Georgia State Rep. Karen Bennett (D) indicted for allegedly fraudulently obtaining covid unemployment benefits pic.twitter.com/ZH4PwD88d5
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 6, 2026
“Before the pandemic her actual role with Metro Therapy was an administrative one and she worked from her home office; she did not provide in-home services for clients,” a charging document said.
“She was not prohibited from reaching her home office because of the pandemic. She was able to continue working as usual from her home to support Metro Therapy throughout the pandemic, and the therapists who provided actual services to clients were able to continue their work after a brief disruption,” the document said.
Bennett also allegedly failed to disclose a church job paying $905 per week she claimed pandemic benefits.
Bennett, who was first elected in 2012, resigned her seat despite pleading not guilty to the charges.
Henderson has said she did nothing wrong, despite facing two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements, according to the Georgia Recorder.
Henderson is accused of claiming in her June 2020 application that the Henry County School District laid her off because of the pandemic.
BREAKING: Georgia State Rep. Sharon Henderson (D) has been INDICTED on unemployment fraud after allegedly illegally collecting over $17,000 in benefits during the COVID pandemic. pic.twitter.com/JUTCSGPKYq
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 9, 2025
Henderson, according to prosecutors, could not legally claim to have lost income in 2019 and 2020 because she only worked at the school for five days in 2018 and had not worked there since.
The substitute teacher contract she signed said she was not eligible for unemployment benefits.
Henderson was first elected in 2020.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has not yet appointed a panel to decide whether Henderson should be suspended, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said last month that other Georgia state House members were being investigated, but it is not clear whether that means more charges are to come after those filed against Bennett.
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