Austin St. John

Getting cast as the Red Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers at 17 made Austin St. John one of the most recognizable faces on Fox Kids in 1993. The show was a phenomenon. He wasn't getting paid like one, though. After 79 episodes, he walked with two co-stars because the production was non-union, the hours were punishing, and the checks didn't match the merchandise. He reprised the role a handful of times over the years, but never seriously. The original run is what people remember.

Prosecutors charged him in 2022 as part of an 18-person scheme that fraudulently obtained $3.5 million from COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program loans. He secured over $400,000 in fraudulent loans and transferred the money to co-conspirators. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2024 under his legal name, Jason Lawrence Geiger, and cooperated with prosecutors. The judge spared him prison. Five years probation and over $225,000 in restitution were the terms. The Red Ranger dodging a federal cell is the kind of headline that writes itself.

The gap between Power Rangers and the fraud charges is more interesting than either. He got EMT certified, became a paramedic, a flight medic, and a tactical medical operator, then spent four years in the Middle East attached to US military operations. He's said Walter Jones, the original Black Ranger, talked him back into the convention circuit. He launched a post-apocalyptic comic called REDempt1on in 2022. The actual backstory beats any character arc they gave him on the show.