The Jason Geiger PPP fraud case ended on May 1, 2025, when the actor known as Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay more than $225,000 in restitution for his role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud the federal Paycheck Protection Program. He avoided prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and cooperating with prosecutors against his co-defendants.1Courthouse News Service. Red Power Ranger Actor Avoids Prison for Role in $3.5 Million PPP Scam
What Geiger Was Accused of Doing
Geiger, then 47 and living in McKinney, Texas, obtained a PPP loan of approximately $225,754 on June 17, 2020, through an entity called “St. John Enterprises.”2WJCL. Jason Geiger, Austin St. John, Red Power Ranger Indicted in Loan Fraud ABC News reported that he was charged with obtaining more than $400,000 in total fraudulent PPP loans and that he transferred $421,000 to a bank account controlled by the scheme’s alleged ringleader.3ABC News. Power Rangers Actor Austin St. John Charged With Defrauding PPP
He was one of 19 people indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas on May 12, 2022. The indictment was unsealed five days later, and Geiger had his initial appearance and arraignment on May 18 before a magistrate judge.4CourtListener. United States v. Hill, 4:22-cr-00110
The Larger Conspiracy
The case, United States v. Hill (4:22-cr-00110), targeted a scheme that collectively netted at least $3.5 million across at least 16 loans from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, the CARES Act program meant to help businesses keep workers on payroll during pandemic shutdowns.5U.S. Department of Justice. 18 Arrested, Charged in East Texas Paycheck Protection Program Related Fraud
Prosecutors identified Michael Lewayne Hill of Mineral Wells, Texas, as the recruiter who directed co-conspirators to use existing businesses or create sham companies to apply for PPP funds, and Andrew Charles Moran of Lewisville, Texas, as the person who prepared the fraudulent paperwork and submitted the applications.3ABC News. Power Rangers Actor Austin St. John Charged With Defrauding PPP The applications misrepresented employee counts and payroll figures.6NBC News. Red Power Ranger Actor Charged in Multimillion-Dollar PPP COVID Relief Fraud Instead of paying employees, participants funneled proceeds into personal accounts and spent the money on cash withdrawals, gold and silver, luxury jewelry, and vehicles, and typically paid kickbacks to Hill and Moran.2WJCL. Jason Geiger, Austin St. John, Red Power Ranger Indicted in Loan Fraud
Guilty Plea and Cooperation
Geiger initially pleaded not guilty. He later reversed course. On May 16, 2024, U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle accepted his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1349, a charge that carried a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison.7CaseMine. United States of America v. Jason Lawrence Geiger
After the plea, Geiger met with prosecutors multiple times and testified truthfully at the trials of two co-defendants. That cooperation led the government to ask the court to spare him prison.1Courthouse News Service. Red Power Ranger Actor Avoids Prison for Role in $3.5 Million PPP Scam
The Sentence
At the May 1, 2025 sentencing, Judge Kernodle imposed five years of probation and ordered restitution of more than $225,000. The judge waived fines and interest, citing Geiger’s inability to pay, and explained the no-prison outcome by pointing to Geiger’s cooperation, his lack of any prior criminal history, and what the court described as an otherwise law-abiding life.1Courthouse News Service. Red Power Ranger Actor Avoids Prison for Role in $3.5 Million PPP Scam
Geiger addressed the court, calling the crime “a one-off thing” and telling the judge, “This court will never see me again. I will go back to my good works.”1Courthouse News Service. Red Power Ranger Actor Avoids Prison for Role in $3.5 Million PPP Scam
How the Co-Defendants Fared
As of Geiger’s sentencing, Gregory Fitzgerald Hatley, 41, of Allen, Texas, was the only defendant reported to have received prison time, a result prosecutors attributed largely to his prior criminal history. The length of that sentence was not publicly reported in available records.1Courthouse News Service. Red Power Ranger Actor Avoids Prison for Role in $3.5 Million PPP Scam
The case against Hill and Moran remained active into late 2024. Sealed plea agreements were filed that November, and final sentencing outcomes for the two alleged ringleaders had not been publicly reported at the time Geiger was sentenced.8CourtListener. United States v. Hill, 4:22-cr-00110