A '90s actor who starred in the hit TV show "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" has been charged with perpetuating 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.
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.
The Justice Department named Michael Hill and Andrew Moran as the alleged leaders of the scheme.
"Hill is alleged to have recruited co-conspirators to use an existing business or create a business to submit applications to obtain PPP funding," according to a Justice Department press release. "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."
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.
In a statement St. John's lawyer said he plead not guilty.
"An indictment is not evidence of guilt," David Klaudt a lawyer representing St. John said. "All defendants are presumed innocent and Mr. St. John intends to vigorously defend himself against this allegation."
Here's how things will play in Cosmic Fury. I can understand them going this route...
...as Kyuranger was a BIG team and it'd probably would go smoother keeping it to the usual 5-6 lineup. I am curious though how the Zords will be divided up between the members.
Wait, was KyuRanger the one with that really awesome clip a while back where the mecha and giant monsters were fighting in the background and the Rangers in the foreground, with stuff from one affecting the other?
It would be a huge shame to lose that.
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Wait, was KyuRanger the one with that really awesome clip a while back where the mecha and giant monsters were fighting in the background and the Rangers in the foreground, with stuff from one affecting the other?
It would be a huge shame to lose that.
That was Kiramager. They had some nice camerawork in that series.
This news is hitting me much harder than I thought it could
I was never the biggest Tommy or green ranger fan, not really...
But power rangers was a huge part of my childhood and he was a huge part of that so it's hard to think that one of your childhood heroes could go this way
Like you all know I've struggled with mental health issues my entire life, you know I lost my step father to suicide in my teens, this is legit rough.
I want you to know I love all of you very much, please if you are suffering don't do so I'm silence I can promise you you aren't alone.
I'm going to go get that semicolon tattoo I've been meaning to get next month.
When JDF was in town for a con he went wind tunneling with my best friend. My wife was a huge Power Rangers fan, and when my friend mentioned it JDF immediately posed for a cell photo and asked him to pass on his appreciation for her fanhood.
I'm just gonna copy-paste what I wrote on twitter if that's okay with yall:
my love for power rangers comes far less from watching it as a kid and far more spending years on a rewatch podcast with friends, one that's had a huge positive impact on my life
but experiencing MMPR that way, as an adult, has made my relationship with Tommy Oliver, the character, and Jason David Frank, the actor, a bit weird.
I don't see a cool karate guy playing a superhero, I see a well-meaning goober making his bones playing a sad sack teenager who bumbled his way into getting the best toys, and is always late to the action because he's at karate practice, and the Zyuranger footage necessitates that the green ranger is MIA for the first half of the monster fight.
I see him lose his powers because he's going to star in another show, the pilot for what became VR Troopers, and then when that doesn't work he comes back as the white ranger because we NEED to use this Zord footage from Dairanger.
I see his awkward Dear John letter from Kimberly, Kat showing up and replacing her, the collar-tugging Native American stuff, and him just kind of being checked out in early Turbo because JDF was ready to move on with his life.
Knowing where the show goes, seeing the strings, and watching the show one week at a time really changed the show for me. I was openly tired of Tommy by the time he left. But man, the show really was better for his being there. Tommy was fun.
...except during Turbo. They maybe should have brought TJ and company in sooner.
Anyway, all of that to say, I've been harsh on JDF over the years on Teenagers With Attitude, and I stand by everything I've said, but man, no one deserves whatever it was he was fighting.
hadn’t posted for a while, but heard about JDF hoping it wasn’t true, and i remembered this thread.
dammit.
i initially thought it weird for JDF to be so all in on his ranger acting background, but i got it later on. he fully leaned into it while appreciating the fans who loved his work. i think watching a lot of the Sentai shows and knowing the history there (especially the reunion special/Gokaiger-type stuff) helped me understand a lot what JDF was doing. it was basically the American version of Super Sentai’s self refentialness.
with this and Kevin Conroy passing, like @LockedOnTarget, these are huge parts of childhood memories lost for me, too.
i hope you all are doing ok. pleases reach out to anyone, to me, to friends, family if you need help or are in a spot.
GreenStick around.I'm full of bad ideas.Registered Userregular
When I was a kid, I looked up to the Green Ranger so much that I tried to convince everyone at school to call me Tommy.
My wife and I went to a convention where he was appearing and we waited through an hour line just to see him and say hello. (I also told him about my wife's childhood crush on him, which she definitely appreciated.) We didn't have anything to sign, so he signed a couple of his My Mighty Morphin' Life promo cards and just gave them to us.
My wife told me the news today and it felt like a genuine gut punch. I hate this so, so much.
Ah. I usually don't make a habit of clicking through to tabloid sites, so all I've seen was the official accounts. Which, to be fair, I think "please respect the family's wishes for privacy at this time" is usually a phrase that points that way.
TMZ is a garbage rag made by garbage people but their reporting on celebrity deaths is, if nothing else, reliably fast and accurate
only because doing otherwise could land them in legal hot water, mind you, but nonetheless if they say it was a suicide we have no reason to doubt it
Being the "fastest and most accurate source for celebrity deaths" doesn't really seem like a great thing to be known for.
Really just seems like a reinforcement of the garbage rag by garbage people assessment.
TMZ is a garbage rag made by garbage people but their reporting on celebrity deaths is, if nothing else, reliably fast and accurate
only because doing otherwise could land them in legal hot water, mind you, but nonetheless if they say it was a suicide we have no reason to doubt it
Being the "fastest and most accurate source for celebrity deaths" doesn't really seem like a great thing to be known for.
Really just seems like a reinforcement of the garbage rag by garbage people assessment.
Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Oh yeah, the only time I end up on TMZ is when a celebrity dies or does something newsworthy and that’s usually because it’s always one of the first results when I google
Oh yeah, the only time I end up on TMZ is when a celebrity dies or does something newsworthy and that’s usually because it’s always one of the first results when I google
It's a tabloid website named for a notorious anti-labor policy in Hollywood. There is no way it would be anything good.
Oh yeah, the only time I end up on TMZ is when a celebrity dies or does something newsworthy and that’s usually because it’s always one of the first results when I google
It's a tabloid website named for a notorious anti-labor policy in Hollywood. There is no way it would be anything good.
TIL about the "thirty-mile zone." That's fucked up.
I get the feeling Cosmic Fury went with all-new costumes specifically to have the franchise’s first main character female Red.
I’m really looking forward to it—Dino Fury’s second season was quite good, and returning to an ongoing narrative is a welcome surprise. That’s what allowed the Zordon Era to be more than the sum of its parts.
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Red-handed?
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That makes me wonder if he used that on a legal document somewhere, or if whoever wrote the indictment was just a fan.
I mean, you wouldn't indict Michael Keaton with "a.k.a. Betelgeuse" or "a.k.a. Batman."
Or, you know, murder.
Nonono it's way worse.
Medina was only sentenced to 6 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and was released after 3.
Meaaaaanwhile according to the article St. John could face up to 20 because he defrauded the government.
I think the worse criminal is clear here.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
Here's how things will play in Cosmic Fury. I can understand them going this route...
...as Kyuranger was a BIG team and it'd probably would go smoother keeping it to the usual 5-6 lineup. I am curious though how the Zords will be divided up between the members.
Also, a very good get in guest stars for the 30th Anniversary Special.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
It would be a huge shame to lose that.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
That was Kiramager. They had some nice camerawork in that series.
EDIT: Found it.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
https://www.facebook.com/mike.bronzoulis/posts/pfbid0ZtdEeeNLRkyNoScd9c2aprdz1Znc19MUmMinemdxbRK8LuUErogtZdBaUS3uY1Hfl
Reports coming in from tabloid sites that Jason David Frank has passed away, his trainer confirming it on Facebook.
The guy who played Zack is saying it too so looking like it might be true.
RIP
I was never the biggest Tommy or green ranger fan, not really...
But power rangers was a huge part of my childhood and he was a huge part of that so it's hard to think that one of your childhood heroes could go this way
Like you all know I've struggled with mental health issues my entire life, you know I lost my step father to suicide in my teens, this is legit rough.
I want you to know I love all of you very much, please if you are suffering don't do so I'm silence I can promise you you aren't alone.
I'm going to go get that semicolon tattoo I've been meaning to get next month.
Pretty sad today.
my love for power rangers comes far less from watching it as a kid and far more spending years on a rewatch podcast with friends, one that's had a huge positive impact on my life
but experiencing MMPR that way, as an adult, has made my relationship with Tommy Oliver, the character, and Jason David Frank, the actor, a bit weird.
I don't see a cool karate guy playing a superhero, I see a well-meaning goober making his bones playing a sad sack teenager who bumbled his way into getting the best toys, and is always late to the action because he's at karate practice, and the Zyuranger footage necessitates that the green ranger is MIA for the first half of the monster fight.
I see him lose his powers because he's going to star in another show, the pilot for what became VR Troopers, and then when that doesn't work he comes back as the white ranger because we NEED to use this Zord footage from Dairanger.
I see his awkward Dear John letter from Kimberly, Kat showing up and replacing her, the collar-tugging Native American stuff, and him just kind of being checked out in early Turbo because JDF was ready to move on with his life.
Knowing where the show goes, seeing the strings, and watching the show one week at a time really changed the show for me. I was openly tired of Tommy by the time he left. But man, the show really was better for his being there. Tommy was fun.
...except during Turbo. They maybe should have brought TJ and company in sooner.
Anyway, all of that to say, I've been harsh on JDF over the years on Teenagers With Attitude, and I stand by everything I've said, but man, no one deserves whatever it was he was fighting.
Rest in peace.
It’s so sad. I don’t know what he was going through, but I hope he can at least find peace on the other side.
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
dammit.
i initially thought it weird for JDF to be so all in on his ranger acting background, but i got it later on. he fully leaned into it while appreciating the fans who loved his work. i think watching a lot of the Sentai shows and knowing the history there (especially the reunion special/Gokaiger-type stuff) helped me understand a lot what JDF was doing. it was basically the American version of Super Sentai’s self refentialness.
with this and Kevin Conroy passing, like @LockedOnTarget, these are huge parts of childhood memories lost for me, too.
i hope you all are doing ok. pleases reach out to anyone, to me, to friends, family if you need help or are in a spot.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
My wife and I went to a convention where he was appearing and we waited through an hour line just to see him and say hello. (I also told him about my wife's childhood crush on him, which she definitely appreciated.) We didn't have anything to sign, so he signed a couple of his My Mighty Morphin' Life promo cards and just gave them to us.
My wife told me the news today and it felt like a genuine gut punch. I hate this so, so much.
Rest in peace, man.
Everything I heard was saying it was a suicide.
This was on TMZ which is reporting suicide
“ Sources with direct knowledge tell us his death was the result of suicide.”
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
only because doing otherwise could land them in legal hot water, mind you, but nonetheless if they say it was a suicide we have no reason to doubt it
Being the "fastest and most accurate source for celebrity deaths" doesn't really seem like a great thing to be known for.
Really just seems like a reinforcement of the garbage rag by garbage people assessment.
that is accurate and I will not dispute it
It's a tabloid website named for a notorious anti-labor policy in Hollywood. There is no way it would be anything good.
TIL about the "thirty-mile zone." That's fucked up.
Well, this looks cool.
...this, uh, not so much.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
I’m really looking forward to it—Dino Fury’s second season was quite good, and returning to an ongoing narrative is a welcome surprise. That’s what allowed the Zordon Era to be more than the sum of its parts.