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Atlanta – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has issued a Call for Special Election on March 11 to fill the House District 94 seat vacated by Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain. Qualifying will be held Jan. 26-28.
Bennett, 70, pleaded guilty today, Jan. 21, to making false statements to fraudulently obtain $13,940 of emergency pandemic unemployment assistance payments, reversing her Jan. 5 plea of not guilty, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.
Bennett resigned her seat effective Jan. 1, 2026, just days before she was charged with federal fraud on Jan. 5.
“Bennett was elected to represent her fellow citizens and took a solemn oath to promote the best interests and prosperity of the State of Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Instead, she violated that oath and, during an unprecedented emergency, lied to line her own pockets with taxpayer money intended to help community members in need.”
Nigel Lange, Inspector General, State of Georgia Office of Inspector General concurred.
“Karen Bennett lied to obtain personal benefits and as an elected official should rightfully be considered the lowest of the low,” said Lange. “Her sentencing should serve as a warning for others who have taken an oath of office that there is zero tolerance for this type of crime in Georgia.”
Prosecutors in the case say Bennett, while serving as the Georgia House Representative for District 94 in 2020, applied for and submitted weekly certifications to claim pandemic unemployment assistance benefits for weeks in March through August 2020. Bennett reportedly stated that her only earnings were $300 per week from the Georgia General Assembly when she applied for pandemic unemployment.
Investigators, however, found that Bennett was earning $905 a week for serving as an AME church minster while receiving pandemic unemployment. The charging documents also state that Bennett was operating Metro Therapy Providers, Inc., a physical therapy company that she owns when she applied for pandemic unemployment.
Bennett stated her company could not perform in-home physical therapy due to pandemic quarantines, but investigators determined her role at Metro Therapy Providers, Inc. was purely administrative and she continued working from her home office throughout the pandemic.
On Common Ground News reached out to Bennett for comment but has not yet received a response to a voice mail.
Bennett became the second Georgia House Democrat charged with pandemic fraud as federal authorities launched a probe specifically scrutinizing members of the Georgia General Assembly.
Covington Rep. Sharon Henderson was indicted in December 2025 on charges of illegally collecting more than $17,000 in pandemic funds.
U.S. Attorney Hertzberg said in December 2025 that multiple Georgia House members were being investigated as part of a nationwide effort by the Justice Department to prosecute fraud in the pandemic programs.
Hertzberg vowed that electec officials who violate the public’s trust would be held accountable for their actions.
“It is shocking that a public official would allegedly lie to profit from an emergency program designed to help suffering community members,” Hertzberg stated in a news release. “Politicians who violate the public trust and steal from the needy to enrich themselves will be held accountable.”
Sentencing for Bennett is scheduled for April 15, 10:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross.
This case is being investigated by the Georgia Office of the State Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett L. Bradford is prosecuting the case
Raffensperger issued the following announcement today, Jan. 21, concerning the Special Election for the unexpired term for Bennett’s seat:
“Notice is hereby given that a Special Election shall be held on March 10, 2026, in portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties for Georgia House District 94, to fill a vacancy due to the resignation of Representative Karen Bennett. A Special Runoff Election, if needed, shall be held on April 7, 2026.
Qualifying for the Georgia House District 94 special election will be held at the Office of Georgia Secretary of State’s Elections Division, 2 MLK Jr. Dr., Floyd West Tower Suite 802, Atlanta, GA 30334.
The dates and hours of qualifying will be Monday, January 26, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 27, 2026, beginning at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday, January 28, 2026, beginning at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 1:00 p.m. The qualifying fee shall be $400.00.
Monday, February 9, 2026, is the last day to register to vote for all persons who are not registered to vote and who desire to vote in the Special Election. Advance in-person absentee voting will begin on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Image: Official Georgia House of Representatives Photo