The Antelope Valley Times

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Teacher charged with workers’ comp fraud, child abuse

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Eric Johnson, 61, was arrested Tuesday, June 7, by Department of Insurance detectives, at his place of employment in Lancaster, on two felony counts of insurance fraud and one felony count of child abuse after an incident with a student. [Image courtesy CA Dept. of Insurance]
Eric Johnson, 61, was arrested Tuesday, June 7, by Department of Insurance detectives, at his place of employment in Lancaster, on two felony counts of insurance fraud and one felony count of child abuse after an incident with a student. [Image courtesy CA Dept. of Insurance]
LOS ANGELES – A teacher with the Los Angeles County Office of Education was arrested Tuesday on felony counts of insurance fraud and child abuse.

Eric Johnson, 61, was arrested by Department of Insurance detectives at his job in Lancaster, according to state insurance regulators.

Johnson had filed a workers’ compensation claim after an alleged fight with a 17-year-old at the Camp Mendenhall juvenile facility in Lake Hughes, authorities said.

The teacher claimed the student initiated the altercation by striking him in the jaw and lip, but video footage showed Johnson instigated the physical altercation and assaulted the minor, officials said.

Victim and witness statements corroborated the video evidence, authorities said.

Johnson did not suffer any physical injuries, the Department of Insurance said.

The Office of Education paid about $1,000 resulting from Johnson’s allegedly fraudulent claim, the department said, adding that early discovery of Johnson’s claim likely prevented larger losses.

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11 comments for "Teacher charged with workers’ comp fraud, child abuse"

  2. I know this guy well and have worked with him for ages. Please go to any Juvenile Camp/Hall in Los Angeles and see for yourself what is going on. These kids have absolutely no respect for anyone including family members when they visit them. I have been spat at; books and pencils thrown at me; threatened to be killed. What can you do if you were one of these teachers.

    These are kids that have grown up been criminals,gang members, drug runners and all sorts of bad things. Teachers are being disrespected everyday by these kids but guess what; they do have more rights than the teachers. Imagine a kid steals your eye glasses that was prescribed; you grab it off his face and you get locked out of the camp for touching a criminal (which was not deliberate) who stole your eyeglasses.

    He does not deserve this. The govt is giving these kids the leeway to keep doing what they are doing. The school administrators don’t even have your back. They get released and come back to the Halls or get killed in the street. What is going on in the society.

    Leave this man alone.

    • Bottom feeders having bottom feeders. Even with all the “at risk” programs, juvenile offender, school outreach and deferred sentencing, you can’t fix many of the bad apples from the bad apple tree.

      I don’t have an issue with how he handled one of the cockroaches, it’s lying about a workers comp injury and fleecing the taxpayers that’s the issue.

  4. I will say this! Kids today are not the same as the ones five, ten to twenty years ago. Kids now have less respect for their teachers and parents. Good for him he sounds like a fantastic teacher that got screwed over by this punk. I wish the schools would stick up more for there teachers.

    • If he instigated it he was probably trying to disicplin the little [removed].
      Stand up for out teachers. They have a difficult enough job with the kids today..NO RESPECT.

  5. That’s my teacher the best one he doesn’t deserve this for putting disrespectful little kids in their place of their mommas and daddies don’t teach them who’s left ?

  6. He was my teacher Cant believe he did this he always said “do good and good will come back to you.. Gave us positive vibes exc..