Red Power Ranger Austin St. John Could Face 20 Years In Prison For Wire Fraud Conspiracy

Austin St. John is best recognized for his role as Jason Lee Scott in the Power Rangers franchise. The Red Power Ranger is a title given to one of the main characters in each season of Power Rangers. Austin, the Red Power Ranger actor, was recently indicted in a wire fraud conspiracy case so things aren’t going too well right now.

According to the Department of Justice, Austin St. John, who played Red Power Ranger in the 1990s “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series, has been arrested for wire fraud conspiracy. In a press statement released on Wednesday, St. John, whose official name is Jason Lawrence Geiger, was listed as one of 18 defendants charged with scamming the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program, collecting at least $3.5 million in fraudulent funding.

The indictment says that two additional defendants, Michael Hill and Andrew Moran, were ringleaders in enlisting 16 people to apply for small business loans using forged documents and collecting the funds for their own personal use.

“On the applications, the defendants are alleged to have misrepresented material information such as the true nature of their business, the number of employees, and the amount of payroll,” the release from the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s office said. As part of the 2020 CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program was created to assist struggling small businesses during the pandemic by providing loans to business owners in need.

If convicted, the defendants may face up to 20 years in federal prison for obtaining 16 PPP loans. St. John, who is 47 now, first appeared as the Red Power Ranger who led the rest of the crime-fighting squad, in the “Power Rangers” universe in 1993. He later evolved into The Gold Ranger during the 1996 television series “Power Rangers Zeo.”

The former Power Ranger was scheduled to attend Des Moines Con, an Iowa comic festival, but it was reported Thursday that he would be unable to go due to “unforeseen personal obligations.” The message he sent out did not mention this wire fraud situation.

“He sends his apologies and love to all those that were looking forward to meeting him. Austin plans to be here to meet all of his fans in 2023.”

Who will protect the world now that the Red Power Ranger has been revealed to be a criminal as well? This is just another piece of our childhood that is crumbling apart in front of our eyes, but we’ll survive, hopefully. Let’s see how things go. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

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