‘Power Rangers’ actor Austin St. John charged with COVID-19 fraud

A “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” star has been charged with a scheme to defraud the U.S. government of CARES Act funds, according to the Department of Justice.

Austin St. John, who played the red Power Ranger on the show, which aired from 1993 to 1995, was one of 18 charged with filing fraudulent applications for loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, and transferring them to the two ringleaders of the scheme.

Austin St. John played the red Power Ranger on the show, which aired from 1993 to 1995.

St. John, 47, reprised his role in several Power Rangers off-shoots over the years, including most recently in a guest spot in the 2020 TV show “Power Rangers Beast Morphers.”

St. John, whose real name is Jason Geiger, allegedly obtained more than $400,000 in fraudulent PPP loans and transferred them to a co-defendant, not for the purposes of using the loans as they were intended. Each of the defendants faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ.

Court documents allege that St. John transferred $421,000 in fraudulently obtained PPP loans to Hill’s bank account.

In total, the defendants allegedly scammed the government out of $3.5 million.