For former Mighty Morphin Power Ranger actor, Austin St. John, the call is coming from inside the command center. Deadline reports St. John, who portrayed the original Red Power Ranger, has been implicated in an alleged COVID loan scheme, according to the Department of Justice. St. John, whose real name is Jason Geiger, was named along with 17 other defendants.
According to Deadline, St. John has been charged with allegedly filing false applications for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. The program was part of the CARES Act established during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many small businesses applied for loan assistance during the peak of the pandemic to balance the loss of profits. St. John allegedly pocketed $400,000 dollars in a scheme that the DOJ alleges totaled $3.5 million dollars.
The Department of Justice has named two men, Michael Hill and Andrew Moran, as the alleged masterminds behind the scheme. They defined the charges against the two alleged ringleaders in a statement provided by Deadline.
“Hill is alleged to have recruited co-conspirators to use an existing business or create a business to submit applications to obtain PPP funding. Once enlisted, Moran is alleged to have assisted his co-conspirators with the application paperwork, including fabricating supporting documentation and submitting the application through the online portals.”
Since the announcement of the charges, Deadline reports St. John has entered a plea of not guilty along with a statement via his lawyer.
“An indictment is not evidence of guilt,” St. John’s lawyer, David Klaudt, stated via Deadline. “All defendants are presumed innocent and Mr. St. John intends to vigorously defend himself against this allegation.”
St. John appeared in Fox’s hit series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from 1993-1995 as the leader of the Power Rangers. The show has lasted for more than 20 years, with many different iterations and actors portraying the heroic “teenagers with attitudes.” More recently, St. John reprised his role as Jason in the 2020 series, Power Ranger Beast Morphers.