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Power Ranger actor busted in COVID relief scheme

One of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” could be in some mighty big trouble with the law.

Actor Jason Lawrence Geiger, 47, who played the Red Ranger in the cheesy 1990s kids’ show and its related films, was busted for his alleged part in a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal COVID-19 relief money.

Geiger, whose stage name is Austin St. John, was one of 19 people charged in the scheme, which resulted in at least 16 fraudulent loans totaling $3.5 million, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas announced this week.

The McKinney, Tx. resident is accused of being part of a network that applied for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program using false information or fabricated documents, prosecutors said.

The network was led by Michael Hill aka “Tank,” 47, and Andrew Moran, 43, who recruited others to use “an existing business or create a business” to apply for the loans, part of the massive $349 billion federal CARES Act.

The loans were meant to provide relief for businesses feeling the pinch of the COVID pandemic and resulting shutdown – but those in the network paid Hill and Moran or used the money for themselves. In some instances those accused sent the money to Jonathan Spencer, 33, to invest in foreign exchange markets, prosecutors said.

Geiger was arrested Tuesday and remains behind bars until a court hearing in Plano on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to a single count against him, his attorney said – adding the embattled actor plans to “viogorously defend himself against this allegation.”

If convicted, each of the accused could face up to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

With Post wires