Power Rangers star Austin St John has been charged for wire fraud conspiracy.
The actor, who played Red Power Ranger Jason Lee Scott in the Nineties children’s series, was arrested on Wednesday (18 May), according to the Department of Justice.
St John – real name Jason Lawrence Geiger – was one of 18 people accused of fraudulently obtaining at least $3.5m (£2.8m) from the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program.
The programme was designed to financially support small business owners struggling due to the pandemic.
The defendants are accused of applying for small business loans using falsified documents and keeping the money for personal spending.
They are alleged to have collectively obtained 16 PPP loans and could face up to 20 years in prison each if found guilty.
“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," a statement from the Eastern District of Texas US Attorney’s office read.
St John was scheduled to appear at a comic festival in Iowa on Thursday (19 May), but it was announced that he could no longer attend due to “unforeseen personal obligations”.
