Eric Johnson, 29, is in the Brevard County Jail on charges of grand theft over $70,000, fraud and extortion, in addition to other offenses. Officers with the Indian Harbour Police Department began investigating the elaborate scheme on Dec. 14 when Johnson’s wife came to the precinct to report him missing and to say he was “being held for ransom,” an arrest affidavit says. She told police that Johnson told her he had previously been involved in a drug cartel before they met and he owed them $60,000 for a botched drug shipment. She started receiving texts on October 7th demanding money in exchange for her husband’s safety, and when she would send money to Johnson’s CashApp account, he would come home an hour or so later. Johnson’s wife sent him money on December 14, but he never came home, and afterward she sent money 50 more times until she had $1.71 to her name. Out of money and out of options, she eventually went to the authorities. The found Johnson shortly after, and he confessed to lying to his wife to get money for crack cocaine. He also admitted that he wasn’t part of a cartel. Eric Johnson, Brevard County, Indian Harbor, Florida, Extortion, Fraud, Grand Theft