ATLANTA — Sharon Henderson, a suspended Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives, pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in pandemic-era unemployment assistance.
Henderson, 67, of Covington, Georgia, pleaded guilty to making false statements to obtain funds administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown.
According to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg and information presented in court, Congress created special unemployment compensation programs in 2020 to provide assistance to people who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applicants were required to provide their recent work histories, confirm that the pandemic caused their unemployment and submit weekly certifications stating they were actively seeking work and explaining why they remained unemployed.
Henderson applied for federal pandemic unemployment benefits in June 2020 while running for a seat in the Georgia House. She claimed her employer was Henry County Schools, though she had not worked for the district for nearly two years. Before that, she had worked for five days as a substitute teacher.
When Henderson worked those five days in 2018, she signed an acknowledgment stating that substitute teachers were not eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
Federal prosecutors said Henderson falsely stated in her application that she had worked for the school system throughout 2019 and as recently as March 10, 2020. She also claimed she had pay stubs documenting the employment and that her workplace had closed because of the public health emergency.
Henderson later submitted fraudulent weekly certifications claiming she could not reach her workplace because of a COVID-19 quarantine. Prosecutors said she filed eight of those certifications in June 2021 after taking office as the representative for District 113, which includes western Newton County and part of Covington.
Henderson fraudulently received $17,811 in pandemic unemployment benefits, prosecutors said.
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