ATLANTA — Federal prosecutors have indicted Georgia state Representative Dexter Sharper, a Democrat from Valdosta, on charges alleging that he fraudulently collected pandemic unemployment benefits while earning income from multiple sources, according to prosecutors and court documents.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Sharper is charged with making false statements to obtain an estimated $13,825 in federal unemployment assistance between April 2020 and May 2021. Investigators allege he falsely certified that he was unemployed and actively seeking work when, in fact, he was earning wages from several jobs.
Prosecutors say Sharper’s pandemic assistance applications listed only his party rental business as an employer and claimed he had not worked since March 13, 2020. But government filings assert that he continued to receive weekly legislative pay, income from his rental business, and earnings as a musician during the period for which he claimed benefits.
“As public officials, when government officials lie to take money … it violates the trust of citizens and weakens faith in our elected government,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement.
Sharper is the third Georgia Democratic lawmaker to face federal scrutiny over pandemic-era unemployment claims. Earlier this year, Rep. Sharon Henderson of Covington was indicted on charges including theft of government funds and making false statements related to unemployment benefit claims. Republican Governor Brian Kemp subsequently suspended Henderson from office.
Another former Democratic state representative, Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain, pleaded guilty in January to making false statements to obtain approximately $13,940 in pandemic unemployment benefits and resigned from the legislature before her charge was filed.
Sharper has declined to comment on the charges or say whether he plans to remain in office as the legal process unfolds.
Federal pandemic unemployment programs were established to provide jobless workers additional support due to COVID-19-related disruptions. Applicants were required to certify eligibility and continued unemployment each week, and federal authorities have pursued fraud cases against individuals who allegedly misrepresented their employment status.
