{"id":2530672,"date":"2026-01-06T17:49:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/another-georgia-democrat-busted-former-lawmaker-charged-with-covid-unemployment-fraud\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T17:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:51:55","slug":"another-georgia-democrat-busted-former-lawmaker-charged-with-covid-unemployment-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/another-georgia-democrat-busted-former-lawmaker-charged-with-covid-unemployment-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Georgia Democrat Busted: Former Lawmaker Charged with COVID Unemployment Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fanother-georgia-democrat-busted-former-lawmaker-charged-with-covid-unemployment-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2530672&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Georgia Democratic state representative, Karen Bennett, resigned after being charged with unlawfully collecting about $14,000 in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-georgia-lawmaker-indicted-on-covid-19-fraud-scheme\/\" title=\"Former Georgia lawmaker indicted on COVID-19 fraud scheme\">pandemic-era <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/better-than-expected-u-s-economy-added-638000-jobs-in-october-unemployment-dropped-to-6-9\/\" title=\"Better Than Expected: U.S. Economy Added 638,000 Jobs in October, Unemployment Dropped to 6.9%\">unemployment benefits<\/a><\/a>. Bennett, a physical therapist who runs Metro Therapy Providers, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >saeid pandemic-related service curbs justified<\/a> her claim, but court documents say she performed mainly administrative work from home, wasn&#8217;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&#8217;s claims that she&#8217;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.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A Democratic Georgia lawmaker has resigned after she became the second Georgia Democrat in two months to be charged with fraud.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/briefs\/a-second-georgia-house-democrat-is-accused-of-unemployment-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Georgia Recorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Rep. Sharon Henderson has been charged with taking $17,100 from the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/150000-illegal-aliens-massed-at-southern-border-ahead-of-title-42-ending\/\" title=\"150,000 un...ed immigrants gathered at the southern border before the end of Title 42.\">pandemic-era program<\/a> as Bennett. She has not resigned her seat.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Court documents dispute that.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING: Georgia State Rep. Karen Bennett (D) indicted for allegedly fraudulently obtaining covid unemployment benefits <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZH4PwD88d5\">pic.twitter.com\/ZH4PwD88d5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/libsoftiktok\/status\/2008369029149335584?\">January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; a charging document said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; the document said.<\/p>\n<p>Bennett also allegedly failed to disclose a church job paying $905 per week she claimed pandemic benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Bennett, who was first elected in 2012, resigned her seat despite pleading not guilty to the charges.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/briefs\/georgia-lawmaker-charged-with-unemployment-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Georgia Recorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Henderson is accused of claiming in her June 2020 application that the Henry County School District laid her off because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">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. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JUTCSGPKYq\">pic.twitter.com\/JUTCSGPKYq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/libsoftiktok\/status\/1998502021734052050?\">December 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The substitute teacher contract she signed said she was not eligible for unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Henderson was first elected in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has not yet appointed a panel to decide whether Henderson should be suspended, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/georgia-karen-bennett-unemployment-charges-502823a2f27ba9f38c52c4bda83d4d97\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Democratic rep resigns after $14K fraud charge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2530673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Judge-and-cuffs.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3774,70255,70256],"class_list":["post-2530672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-covid-19","tag-former-lawmaker","tag-unemployment-fraud"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Judge-and-cuffs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2530672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530676,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530672\/revisions\/2530676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2530673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2530672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2530672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2530672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}