Austin St. John of 'Power Rangers' Fame Was Charged With Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud
Published May 20 2022, 9:35 a.m. ET
Another controversy has reared its ugly head over at the Power Rangers franchise.
Austin St. John was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud among 18 others on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, a press release by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas states. The actor portraying the Red Ranger (aka Jason Lee Scott) in TV series like Power Rangers Zeo and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is facing up to 20 years in jail. What happened?
'Power Rangers' actor Austin St. John and 18 others have been arrested or summoned to court.
Austin St. John, the New Mexico-born actor who has become a steady fixture of the Power Rangers franchise since first appearing in the 1996 TV series Power Rangers Zeo, was named as one of the 19 individuals accused of obtaining 16 loans and an estimated $3.5 million thanks to the use of a fraudulent scheme.
The press release by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas names Michael Lewayne Hill (aka "Tank"), a 47-year-old man residing in Mineral Wells, Texas, and Andrew Charles Moran, a 43-year-old living in Lewisville, Texas, as the individuals suspected of engineering the scheme. The 19 individuals appear to have obtained various loans via the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP.
According to the press release, the 19 individuals misrepresented the "nature of their business," "the number of employees," and the "amount of payroll" to acquire funds which they proceeded to use for "personal purchases" and to invest in "foreign exchange markets".
Austin St. John, aka the Red Ranger is far from the first 'Power Rangers' star to attract controversy.
The 47-year-old actor is far from the first Power Ranger to face a public backlash. Ricardo Medina, a Kern County-born actor who first skyrocketed to fame with the 2002 TV series, Power Rangers Wild Force, received a 6-year prison sentence on March 30, 2017. Medina stabbed his roommate, Josh Sutter, to death with a samurai sword in 2015. Medina appears to have been released from jail in 2020 after serving three years.
"God damn it, Jason! Was one evil Red Ranger not enough?! Ricardo Medina committed murder by chopping up his roommate with a f--king samurai sword," tweeted @Vacer23 on May 20, 2022.
Ricardo Medina's character, Cole Evans (aka the Red Lion Wild Force Ranger), frequently used a samurai sword on Power Rangers.
Andrew M. Gray, the star of 'Power Rangers Megaforce,' was recently accused of misconduct by 'Bling Empire' fans.
Andrew M. Gray, the 35-year-old actor who got his first break with the Red Megaforce Ranger's role in a 2013 adaptation, Power Rangers Megaforce, has recently sparked various rumors. As Kelly Mi Li's now ex-boyfriend, Andrew was shown to exhibit a tendency to exercise coercive control in Season 1 of Bling Empire. Fans have long wondered about whether Bling Empire was scripted, and not much info is available on Andrew's real life beyond the Bling Empire rumors, so it's unclear whether his behavior is true to his personality.
Either way — Could the red suit be cursed?!