The 47-year-old actor, who performed the Purple Energy Ranger in 'Mighty Morphin Energy Rangers,' was arrested together with 17 different people on expenses associated to fraudulently acquiring a minimum of $3.5 million from the federal program.
Austin St. John, who's greatest identified for taking part in the Purple Ranger in a number of Energy Ranger franchise installments, was amongst these charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Tuesday in a federal indictment associated to the federal COVID-19 Paycheck Safety Program.
The 47-year-old actor, often known as Jason Lawrence Geiger, was among the many 18 defendants who have been both arrested on suspicion of conspiracy or summoned to seem earlier than a federal Justice of the Peace choose for the costs, in keeping with the Division of Justice. If convicted, St. John may resist 20 years in federal jail.
Per the indictment, the group of defendants is alleged to have fraudulently obtained a minimum of 16 loans and a minimum of $3.5 million by means of a plan led by two males — Michael Hill and Andrew Moran — to defraud lenders and the Small Enterprise Administration’s PPP effort.
Hill was allegedly liable for recruiting co-conspirators, who used an current enterprise or created a enterprise to submit purposes and procure PPP funding. Moran allegedly assisted co-conspirators with the appliance paperwork — each in fabricating supporting documentation and submitting their software by means of the federal help program’s on-line portals.
The DOJ announcement states that the defendants allegedly misrepresented details about the “true nature” of their enterprise on the purposes, in addition to the variety of folks the enterprise employed and the quantity of payroll. Loans have been then accepted and dispersed by the SBA and different monetary establishments primarily based on “these materials misrepresentations.”
As a substitute of placing cash towards worker salaries, utility funds or well being care advantages, St. John and 17 others are accused of in some cases paying Hill and Moran, who transferred the cash to non-public accounts earlier than spending it on private purchases. Others allegedly despatched their fraudulently obtained funds to a 3rd particular person, Jonathon Spencer, in order that it might be invested in overseas trade markets.
The case is at present being investigated by the FBI and IRS – Legal Investigations, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys within the Jap District of Texas prosecuting.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to a rep for St. John for remark.