A Melbourne, Florida man was arrested after allegedly extorting over $80,000 from his wife to fuel his cocaine habit by falsely claiming he was involved with a drug cartel.

Eric Paul Johnson, 29, was charged with grand theft of $100,000 or more, organized fraud to obtain property valued over $50,000 or more, extortion, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device – all felonies.

Court records say Johnson’s wife returned home from work in December 2023 and saw several messages from an unknown phone number. In the messages, the person demanded various sums of money.

Johnson allegedly told his wife they were being blackmailed and that a man named “Troy” was going to help them out.

Johnson met his wife in May 2020, and he disclosed to her that he used cocaine and marijuana, but also worked for a drug cartel, court documents allege.

He also allegedly told her he was running a “large quantity of cocaine, which was ultimately intercepted and resulted in a loss of $60,000.”

Johnson’s wife helped him pay off the alleged debt.

Nearly two years before the couple married, Johnson allegedly stole $9,000 from his wife by pulling money out of ATMs around Melbourne.

Between May 2020 and December 2023, Johnson allegedly received $18,120 from his wife and a total of $124,549 from her and other sources.

On Friday, Johnson pleaded not guilty to the charges.