Former Democratic Georgia Rep. Karen Bennett resigned effective Jan. 1, 2026, days before facing federal charges alleging that she fraudulently obtained nearly $14,000 in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits by falsely claiming her in-home physical therapy work was disrupted, while her role was actually administrative and conducted from home and unaffected.
Yet further, prosecutors say she hid weekly church income of $905. She has pleaded not guilty and was released on bond. This marks the second Georgia House Democrat charged with similar pandemic fraud, following Rep. Sharon Henderson.
In any case, the charging documents, from the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, laid out the facts. The document read, “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.”
Continuing, the same source revealed, “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.”
In her resignation letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, Karen Bennett wrote, “I am proud of the work accomplished by the Georgia General Assembly when we came together to advance policies that strengthened our state and improved the lives of all Georgians. Serving in this capacity has truly been a labor of love and one that I will miss.”
Bennett isn’t the only Georgia Democrat to have resigned in disgrace. Rep. Lynn Heffner, another Georgia Democrat, resigned under similar circumstances. “As recovery efforts have continued, the rebuilding process has reached an impasse, creating uncertainty that makes it difficult to confidently maintain constitutional residency while continuing legislative service,” she claimed in her own resignation letter.
When the news broke on social media, conservatives were enraged. One viral post read, “🚨BREAKING: Democrat Georgia State Rep. Karen Bennett federally indicted for fraud. Bennett—a Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police activist is the 2nd GA lawmaker charged with defrauding taxpayers in the last month. The entire Democratic Party are fraudsters.”
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In the comments, one conservative reacted, “Disgusting the level of fraud that is taking place. DEI got people into positions they were never capable of handling.” Agreeing, another added, “As a GA resident, glad to see us rooting out the fraud. Taxpayer $ is our $!”
Describing the situation, one local conservative stated, “The corruption is deep in Georgia, and our republican governor turns a blind eye to the corruption that festers in the Atlanta metro area from democrats. I’d love a DOGE audit of all government programs here.”
Asking for harsh consequences, a comment begged, “Out on bond. Neither will see the prison time they deserve. Minimum 10 years plus all the money back!!!” Another pondered, “DOJ should form a complete section dedicated to investigating Dem crimes.”
“Just because more than 90% of the Democratic lawmakers are frauds, grifters and thieves, we shouldn’t just assume that ALL of them are,” a sarcastic post suggested. Wrapping up he comments, a Georgia conservative commented, “I live in DeKalb. They’re so obviously corrupt. Always have been”