In a major bit of news announced by a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release on Monday, December 8, the DOJ revealed that a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives, Sharon Henderson, has been arrested and charged over a huge fraud scheme involving pandemic fraud relief programs, and with lying about that scheme.
Beginning the press release that revealed the stunning scheme and arrest, the Department of Justice said, “Sharon Henderson, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, was arrested today and should appear in court this afternoon after a federal grand jury charged her with two counts of theft of government funds and ten counts of making false statements.”
Continuing later on, it described the charges that have been alleged against the Democrat representative, saying, “According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In 2020, in response to the forced closures of businesses and unprecedented economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 emergency, the U.S. Congress created special unemployment compensation programs to provide cash assistance to individuals who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
Building on that, it described the program that she had pillaged, saying, “Applicants for the programs had to provide their recent work histories and confirm, among other things, that COVID-19 was the reason they were unemployed. Applicants also had to provide a certification for every week for which they wished to claim benefits, attesting to whether they were actively seeking work for the week and the reason they were unemployed.”
Then, getting to what she is alleged to have done, the DOJ noted that the Democrat had pretended to be a teacher to pilfer the program. That section began, “In June 2020, while a candidate for a Georgia House seat, Henderson allegedly applied for federal pandemic unemployment benefits claiming that her current employer was Henry County Schools. Although Henderson had worked as a substitute teacher for Henry County Schools for five days in 2018 (almost two years prior), she had not worked for Henry County Schools since then.”
It continued, describing where the fraud came in, “Additionally, the Substitute Teacher Agreement Henderson signed in 2018 included an acknowledgment that substitute teachers are not eligible to draw unemployment wages. Nevertheless, Henderson allegedly stated in the application that she had worked for the school system throughout 2019 and as recently as March 10, 2020; that she had paystubs as evidence of that employment in 2019; and that her place of employment was closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
And, noting that the lying and fraud went on for weeks, the statement said, “She then allegedly submitted weekly certifications stating that she was unable to reach her place of employment because of a COVID-19 quarantine. She allegedly submitted eight of those certifications in June 2021, after she was sworn in and serving as the state representative for District 113, which covers western Newton County and part of Covington, Georgia.”
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