The former CEO of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority is now suing the organization for millions of dollars in damages, according to paperwork filed yesterday (Thursday) in the Alexandria Circuit Court.
ARHA fired Erik Johnson in September after it was revealed that he and his family were living in an Old Town ARHA property. In the new filing, Johnson alleges that ARHA facilitated his move into the property and was trying to protect itself by pleading ignorance when it sent ALXnow a statement claiming it was unaware he lived there.
Johnson, who was ARHA’s CEO for about a year, is asking the court for $1,500,000 in lost wages and benefits, bonus compensation, the equivalent of five months of severance base pay and $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation.
“We are unable to comment on pending litigation,” ARHA told ALXnow. “The newly constituted board is committed to operating in a transparent manner and restoring public trust in the agency.”
In August, Johnson admitted that he lived in the property for approximately a month, resulting in a domino effect that led to his suspension and termination, the appointment of Deputy Executive Director Rickie Maddox as interim CEO, the resignation of the nine-member ARHA Board of Commissioners and their replacement.
“Practically everyone at ARHA knew that Mr. Johnson was going to be moving into 409 Cook Street,” Johnson alleged in the new filing. “It was not a secret.”
ARHA owns and operates more than 1,100 public housing properties in Alexandria and administers the Housing Choice Voucher program to more than 1,600 residents in private properties. As of February, thousands of people were on the public housing waitlist, with another 10,600 on the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist.
Johnson’s filing alleges not only that ARHA staff knew about his housing arrangement, but that they also selected a moving company for his family and chose their hotel.
Johnson is being represented by attorney Todd Pilot. According to Johnson’s filing:
In February of 2025, the ARHA Asset Manager informed Mr. Johnson that ARHA’s 409 Cook Street property in Chatham Square was going to be available. The Asset Manager suggested that occupying this unit would be a good opportunity for Mr. Johnson to get to know some of the ARHA tenants and to share what the ARHA tenants experience as ARHA residents while Mr. Johnson looked for a permanent place to purchase
The 409 Cook Street unit was one of 62 units in Chatham Square that was part of a Low Income Housing Tax Credit financing effort over 15 years ago. In 2024, the LIHTC compliance period ended and ARHA bought out the investor interest in ARHA’s Chatham Square properties. As a result, the unit, suggested to Mr. Johnson, was believed to no longer be subject to affordable housing compliance requirements under the LIHTC program.
ARHA’s strategy was to begin to transition all or a portion of its Chatham Square units to workforce/market rate rental units as a method to increase revenues for the agency and to mitigate revenue loss resulting from the ARHA’s purchases and redevelopment efforts of other ARHA properties …
The Asset Manager’s belief was that Mr. Johnson’s occupancy of 409 Cook Street would be permissible since 409 Cook Street was going to be transitioned into a market rate unit …
The Cook Street unit was reportedly “in terrible shape,” “reeked of urine and feces” and required renovations such as “updates to flooring, appliances, lighting, closets, countertops” and HVAC, according to the filing.
ARHA staff completed renovations, which “Mr. Johnson had no role in developing,” he alleges. The group later determined Johnson would pay $3,500 per month in rent.
The filing includes a screenshot Johnson contends was between he and an ARHA board member, confirming that he and his family would move into the property on July 1.
Johnson said he quarreled with the former resident member of the ARHA Board, who reportedly hadn’t paid rent for a year.
The Board member sent ALXnow and City Council information that Johnson was living in public housing “without permission and knowledge of the Board” and that he “directed updates and special customizations of 409 Cook Street,” according to the filing.
In mid-August, Johnson got a call from an ARHA executive telling him that the property was “no longer subject to the affordable housing compliance requirements under the LIHTC program,” and that “the previous declaration that his occupancy of 409 Cook Street was in compliance has been rescinded,” according to the filing. At the time, he was out of the country.
Johnson stated that he contacted previous Board Chair Anitra Androh, who then “promised Mr. Johnson that they would get through this and that he would be able to keep his job.”
Later in August, ARHA “cut off Mr. Johnson’s credit card, terminated his access to ARHA’s information systems and to the ARHA building,” according to the filing.
On Sept. 4, Johnson was placed on probation pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
A week later, he says in his filing, he received a termination letter, “citing as grounds, Mr. Johnson’s moving into 409 Cook Street without HUD approval and a claim that Mr. Johnson ‘charged to ARHA and received over $24,000 in relocation expenses,'” according to the filing.
Johnson says that since he was terminated with cause, he didn’t receive severance. He claims that his efforts to resolve the issue with ARHA’s board ended when they resigned, prompting this litigation.
The City Council has appointed six new ARHA board members, including Jinks as its new chair, since all nine previous members resigned last month. There are still three board vacancies.
