VALENCIA — 61-year-old Eric Johnson of Valencia has been arrested by Department of Insurance detectives on two felony counts of insurance fraud and one felony count of child abuse after an incident with a young student.
Johnson, who is a teacher for the L.A. County Office of Education, had filed a workers’ comp claim after an altercation with a 17-year-old minor at the Camp Mendenhall juvenile facility. He claimed that the student initiated the altercation by striking him in the jaw and lip, then shoving him into a wall. Video evidence revealed, however, that Johnson was the instigator, which victim and witness statements corroborated.
The Los Angeles County Office of Education paid approximately $1,000 in losses due to the fraudulent claim, which could have been much more.
Johnson was booked into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detention facility. The case will be prosecuted by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.
