Information — United States v. Dexter L. Sharper (N.D. Ga.)

Summary

An Information filed 01/30/26 as Document 1 in United States of America v. Dexter L. Sharper, No. 1:26-CR-38, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The United States Attorney charges in Count One, headed 18 U.S.C. § 1001 - False Statements, and alleges that the defendant served as the elected Georgia State House Representative for District 177. It alleges that the defendant submitted an Internet application for unemployment insurance benefits and submitted UI claims for 38 weeks from April 2020 through May 2021, each certifying no earnings or work. It alleges that the defendant was earning money from jobs in those weeks and collected benefits to which the defendant was not entitled.

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     Case 1:26-cr-00038-MHC      Document 1     Filed 01/30/26   Page 1 of 4




                  IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT F/l£DsS.?PE^,SURT
                FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ' ma
                              ATLANTA DIVISION ^ 3 Q 2026
                                                                      KEVIN p.
                                                                       By::jMt^lc1^
  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
          y I Crurunal Information

  DEXTER L. SHARPER | No- 1:26-CR-38



THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY CHARGES THAT:

                                    Count One
                       (18 U.S.C. § 1001 - False Statements)

   At all times relevant to this Information:

   1. The defendant, DEXTER L. SHARPER, served as the elected Georgia State

House Representative for District 177, which includes portions of Lowndes

County.

   2. Unemployment Insurance (UI) was a joint state and federal program that

provided monetary benefits to eligible beneficiaries. UI payments were intended

to provide temporary financial assistance to lawful workers who were

unemployed through no fault of their own. Beginning in or around March 2020,

and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several federal programs expanded

UI eligibility and increased benefits; these mcluded the Pandemic Emergency

Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment

Compensation (FPUC) programs (collectively, UI benefits).

   3. In the State of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Labor (GA-DOL)

administered the UI program and the United States Department of Labor (US-
     Case 1:26-cr-00038-MHC          Document 1   Filed 01/30/26   Page 2 of 4




DOL) provided oversight and federal-level administration. The GA-DOL is

headquartered in the Northern District of Georgia, and servers that it used to

administer the UI programs were located in the Northern District of Georgia.

   4. Those seeking UI benefits submitted online applications. Applicants had to

answer specific questions to establish eligibility to receive UI benefits, including

their name, work and earning history, and mailing address, among other things.

Benefits were awarded on a weekly basis/ and applicants were required to

provide certifications for every week for which they wished to collect benefits.

   5. The GA-DOL relied on the information in the applications to determine

eligibility for UI benefits. Once an application was approved, UI benefits were

most often issued either through a direct deposit into a designated account or a

transfer to a pre-paid debit card.

   6. On or about April 16,2020, SHARPER submitted an Internet application for

UI benefits. In that application, he declared that he had only one employer:

Dexter Sharper Party Rental. He also stated that he had worked for that business

for 90 months, working 40 hours per week and earning $600 per week, but that

his last date of work for the business was March 13,2020. The application

included instructions stating that claimants must report all earnings, "regardless

of the source of income" and that "failure to report your total earnings is

considered fraud/' (emphasis in original).

   7. SHARPER periodically submitted certifications via the Internet for each

week for which he requested benefits. In all/ SHARPER submitted UI claims for
      Case 1:26-cr-00038-MHC       Document 1     Filed 01/30/26   Page 3 of 4




38 weeks m April 2020 through May 2021. In each of those certifications,

SHARPER stated about each of those individual weeks:

  • He had earned $0.

  • He had not worked or earned any wages.

  • He was able, available, and actively seeking work.

  • He had not refused any work.


SHARPER also confirmed, for each weekly certification, "By use of this

transaction, I certify that all information entered is true to the best of my

knowledge and belief. I understand the law provides penalties for making false

statements to claim unemployment benefits."

   8. In reality, SHARPER was working and earning money from at least two —

and sometimes three—jobs each week for which he submitted a UI benefits

certification stating that he had not worked or earned any wages. Specifically,

SHARPER was collecting approximately $361 or $325 every week from the

Georgia General Assembly for his position as Georgia State House

Representative. SHARPER'S business, Dexter Sharper Party Rental, was also

operating and generating income every week he filed a claim, with SHARPER

collecting up to $2,231 per week. Further, during some weeks SHARPER was

collecting an additional $275 from work as a musician.

   9. As a result of the false application and certifications, SHARPER collected a

total of $13/825 of UI benefits to which he was not entitled.
      Case 1:26-cr-00038-MHC       Document 1    Filed 01/30/26      Page 4 of 4




   10. On or about April 11, 2021, in the Northern District of Georgia and

elsewhere, the defendant, DEXTER L. SHARPER, did knowingly and willfully

make materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations

in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of

the United States on an Internet certification to obtain funds administered by the

U.S. Department of Labor m the form of unemployment benefits for the week

ending April 10,2021; that is, SHARPER stated that he had not worked or earned

any wages that week. The statements and representations were false because, as

defendant SHARPER then and there knew, he had earned approximately $2,556

that week from his work for the Georgia General Assembly and Dexter Sharper

Party Rental.

   All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.


 THEODORE S. HERTZBERG
  United States Attorney



 GARRETT L. BRADFORD
  Assistant United States Attorney
 Georgia Bar No. 074374


 600 U.S. Courthouse
 75 Ted Turner Drive SW
 Atlanta, GA 30303
 404-581-6000; Fax: 404-581-6181


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