A Melbourne, Florida, man was arrested on suspicion of falsely claiming to be involved in a drug cartel and extorting more than $80,000 from his wife to fuel her cocaine habit.
Eric Paul Johnson, 29, is charged with grand theft over $100,000, organized fraud to obtain property over $50,000, extortion, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device, all felonies. Ta.
According to court records, Johnson’s wife returned home from work in December 2023 and saw several messages from an unknown phone number. In her messages, the person asked for various amounts.
Johnson allegedly told his wife that they were being threatened and that a man named “Troy” was going to help them.
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Eric Paul Johnson allegedly told his wife he was involved in a drug cartel and extorted more than $80,000 from her to fuel her cocaine habit. (Brevard County Sheriff’s Office)
The person sending the message told Mr. Johnson’s wife that if she did not send money to the CashApp account, her husband would be injured or killed.
For example, one of the messages read, “…if you don’t pay your family $500 now, something will happen.”
“500 now or Buenas Noche which means good night in Spanish,” the person wrote in another message.
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Melbourne police have arrested Eric Johnson on suspicion of extorting more than $80,000 from his wife. (Melbourne Police Station)
Mr Johnson was missing at the time the message was sent, but this was not the first time he had been reported missing and a ransom had been demanded.
Just two months before Johnson’s wife filed his missing person report, Johnson began to disappear frequently, claiming he owed money to the cartel.
Once he pays the ransom to the alleged cartel, Johnson will be sent home.
Mr. Johnson was in possession of his wife’s car when he disappeared in December. According to her court documents, she told police she believed he had returned to her home on the day of the kidnapping and that she had previously seen him in her bedroom wearing the clothes he had been wearing. She said she saw the clothes.
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Police found Mr Johnson a day after he was reported missing after being seen driving on Highway 192 in Melbourne.
Police said in court documents that Mr. Johnson admitted that he was the one who sent the text messages to his wife from an unknown number, adding that he had a problem with cocaine.
Johnson said he never sold drugs, but admitted to being a personal user, court documents allege.
Investigators searched his cellphone and found that he had sent “sexting” messages to a woman on the day his wife reported him missing.
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According to court documents, Johnson met his wife in May 2020 and was using cocaine and marijuana, but also told her he was working for a drug cartel.
He also allegedly told her that he had “a large amount of cocaine in his possession, which ended up being intercepted, resulting in a loss of $60,000.”
Mr. Johnson’s wife helped him pay off his debts.
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About two years before the couple married, Johnson allegedly stole $9,000 from his wife by withdrawing money from ATMs around Melbourne.
Between May 2020 and December 2023, Johnson allegedly received $18,120 from his wife and $124,549 from her and other sources.
On Friday, Johnson pleaded not guilty to the charges.
