BOSTON — Former Massachusetts State Sen. Dean Tran has been sentenced to more time in federal prison for trying to cover up a fraudulent job offer and job offer letter from his sister’s company.
Tran, 50, a former Republican state senator from Fitchburg, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for for unemployment benefit fraud and tax offenses. He is serving his sentence at Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, according to a federal database.
Tran was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston to one year in prison, 11 months to run concurrent with his current sentence, and one month to run consecutive, to be followed by 18 months of supervised release to run concurrent with his current sentence.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV handed down his sentence.
Tran pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice and making a false statement.
Tran was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024 along with his sister, Tuyet T. Martin.
Martin pleaded guilty in January to attempting to obstruct and interfere in a grand jury investigation involving her brother. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13.
A federal jury convicted Tran in September 2024 for fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits and his “willful omission” of consulting and rental income from his tax returns in 2020, 2021 and 2022, prosecutors said.
“This case is clear and simple. It is about entitlement. Entitlement to benefits Mr. Tran was not owed, entitlement to lie when confronted and entitlement to blame everyone but himself,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
“Dean Tran did not only commit fraud; he lied, obstructed justice and tried to derail a federal investigation to protect himself,” Foley said. “Even after being convicted, Dean Tran continued to deny responsibility for his actions.”
Tran’s “sentence makes one thing clear: if you think you can lie to federal agents, manipulate the system and obstruct justice – you are sorely mistaken,“ Foley said. ”As we have said over and over, no one is above the law. Justice is blind to power, wealth and status.”
Tran exploited “critical benefit programs” that help people in need, Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, said in a statement.
“This investigation underscores our continued commitment to protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance system,” said D’Esposito. “Mr. Tran’s fraudulent receipt of pandemic unemployment benefits was compounded by false statements made to federal law enforcement during the execution of a lawful search warrant. Individuals who exploit critical benefit programs and attempt to obstruct investigations will be held accountable.”
Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, called Tran’s actions “egregious.”
“Anyone who obstructs a federal investigation is attempting to subvert the course of justice, and when a former Massachusetts State Senator does it, that’s even more egregious,” Docks said. “The FBI and our partners will always seek to hold those foolish enough to try to interfere with our cases accountable because it is a direct threat to our entire system of justice.”
During an ongoing investigation into unemployment benefits and tax fraud schemes, federal law enforcement interviewed Tran at his home while executing a federal search warrant, prosecutors said.
During the interview, investigators asked Tran about a letter he provided to unemployment agency officials when his benefits were briefly suspended, and he was attempting to have his benefits reinstated.
Tran “made material misrepresentations to the federal law enforcement agents about the letter,” Foley said, including that his sister, Martin, had authored the letter when she was not the sole author of the letter.
Prosecutors said Tran had revised the letter before it was submitted to unemployment officials. He also told federal agents that his sister’s signature appeared on the letter when, in fact, Tran had signed the letter, not his sister.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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