The famous Red Power Ranger star actor Austin St. John has been arrested on fraud charges after the FBI stormed his home in McKinney.
According to TMZ report, a number of armed FBI agents raided his home in McKinney, Texas on Thursday, 19th of May. When they left the home, they were seen escorting St. John in handcuffs.
Actor Austin is part of a big federal indictment against 18 individuals, as he was said to be part of a scheme to exploit the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to help businesses impacted by COVID-19. The US Treasury set aside more than $349 billion in forgiven loans to help small firms pay their employees throughout the crisis.
The actor was alleged to have taken out as many as 16 loans, for a total of $3.5 million by utilizing fake information.
As the United States Department of Justice’s statement on the indictment reads, the 47-year-old actor has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“According to the indictment, the defendants, led by Michael Hill and Andrew Moran, are alleged to have executed a scheme to defraud lenders and the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP),” the statement read.
“Hill is alleged to have recruited co-conspirators to use an existing business or create a business to submit applications to obtain PPP funding.”
“The individuals allegedly forged paperwork that misrepresented the nature of the business, its number of employees, and the amount of the payroll.”
