Century Couple Charged With Exploiting Elderly Woman

May 3, 2013

A Century husband and wife have been charged with financially exploiting an elderly woman.

Lashonda Marsha Johnson, 41, and Eric Russell Johnson 43, both of Jefferson Avenue, Century, were charged with felony exploitation of an elderly person.  The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Lashonda Johnson worked for Granny Nannies as a certified nursing assistant for the victim at the time of the alleged crime in 2011.

After the Johnsons were denied a loan in December 2011 to purchase a 2011 Buick Lacrosse, Eric Johnson returned to Pen Air Federal Credit Union with his wife’s elderly client and used the elderly woman’s good credit to obtain a $28,583 loan as a co-signer, deputies said. The elderly woman, according to an arrest report, lacked the physical and mental capacity to consent to the loan.

In March 2013, the elderly woman’s son discovered the loan and contact sheriff’s investigators.  According to an arrest report, Eric Johnson returned to Pen Air  in April 2012 to refinance the vehicle only in his name. The vehicle was later returned to the credit union after Eric Johnson filed bankruptcy.

After their arrests this week, both Johnsons were released from the Escambia County Jail on $5,000 bond each.

Comments

11 Responses to “Century Couple Charged With Exploiting Elderly Woman”

  1. Chris on May 6th, 2013 8:49 am

    @ James
    What do we not know?
    Caregiver takes her client to the bank and gets her to co sign on a loan for a car they could not afford to pay for. It doesn’t matter if they were the best of friends that caregiver is there to provide a service to the elderly lady. It is very wrong for the caregiver to even ask to patient to do something like that!!!
    Now we (Tax Payers) is having to pay for the lawyers (Public Defenders) for both of the Geto Fab Thieves….

  2. David Huie Green on May 4th, 2013 9:41 am

    REGARDING:
    “Innocent until proven guilty. This is called the American Justice System, The Law, which seems like none of you know anything about.”

    Sure we do.

    It is the system of deciding official guilt or innocence and appropriate punishment where merited.

    Perhaps you don’t understand freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

    Folks here are discussing what they have read here and assuming it is accurate until proven otherwise. It would have been silly to have filed the charges in the first place if some basic facts weren’t determined. If they didn’t have the lady co-sign the loan, they are innocent. If she were aware of what was going on and signed, they are innocent.

    The idea that it would have been okay if she had been family is silly and some have addressed that.

    Now let us consider something else. While legally the accused is innocent until a verdict is given, factually the accused is innocent or guilty regardless even of being accused. They either did something wrong or they didn’t. If they didn’t do anything wrong, people need to be reminded to avoid looking like they are doing something wrong — if for no other reason than to avoid attorney’s fees. If they DID do something wrong, others need to know there are consequences to wrong doing.

    It embarrasses family members but the embarrassment is caused by the culprit, not the gossip; the knowledge of what was done is — and should be — what embarrasses people. Even the folks who say “he done nun wrong” know better, they just feel obliged to stick up for friends, kindred, fellow criminals and/or church members.

    David for free discussion

  3. Karma on May 3rd, 2013 11:42 pm

    What goes around will come back around, what’s done in the dark will come to the light, be careful what you speak in to existence for others because you may have spoken it upon your self and now look at what has happened. It’s not good to act like your more than others and come to find out everything you getting is from someone else pocket. Shame on y’all and may God have mercy…

  4. just saying on May 3rd, 2013 9:12 pm

    the johnson should be ashamed they knew they was doing wrong but know this you reap what you sow believe me god sits high he knows all about it i hate flies roaches liars and thieves that what the johnson’s is………

  5. Believer on May 3rd, 2013 8:07 pm

    Most loan officers practice due diligence with everything they do. CU employees are trained to make sure all parties involved have a full understanding of what they are doing. Questions are asked such as “do you understand what you are doing”? “Can you tell me how you understand”? and “Are you okay with that?”
    I can’t stand to see the elderly taken advantage of. The Johnsons should be ashamed of themselves.

  6. JAMES on May 3rd, 2013 4:02 pm

    Innocent until proven guilty. This is called the American Justice System, The Law, which seems like none of you know anything about.

  7. fred on May 3rd, 2013 9:52 am

    I hope someone with Pen Air will chime in here and help us understand how an elderly woman with diminished mental capacity could co-sign a loan with people not related to her. There was either an elaborate ruse constructed to fool the credit union, or the loan processors were not exercising due diligence. So many elderly people are taken advantage of, and not just by caregivers, but by slick advertisements and telephone solicitors too. Fortunately, this lady’s son was vigilant and caught this before mom came to financial harm.

  8. Molino Mom on May 3rd, 2013 9:43 am

    My deceased brothers’ wife had my mother sign a very large check made payable to her. My mother did not have full mental capacity, either. I can only pray that sister-in-law is not doing this to someone else now. She did want to start an adult living facility in her home close to Byrneville.

  9. Cathy on May 3rd, 2013 9:21 am

    This is so sad. Looks like this is not the first time Lashonda Johnson has had problems; http://www.escambiaclerk.com/xml/xmlBM.asp?ucase_id=1422807.

  10. Bk on May 3rd, 2013 8:12 am

    This makes me so mad! I’m an in-home CNA, and the amount of people doing things like this is astonishing.

    We are supposed to be trusted helpers and health care providers, not thieves and liars and frauds! This makes me so mad, especially because these people know what they are doing is WRONG! They sure wouldn’t like it if someone did this to one of their family members.

  11. Jane on May 3rd, 2013 4:34 am

    Now they are out and can do more damage to someone else!