Sister of former Mass. state senator pleads guilty to obstruction of justice

BOSTON — The sister of former Massachusetts Sen. Dean Tran has pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct and interfere in a grand jury investigation involving her brother, the U.S. Attorney said Friday.

Tuyet T. Martin, 55, of Pelham, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for May 13.

Martin was charged in June 2024 along with her brother, Tran, who was convicted in September 2024 of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits and tax evasion.

Tran, 50, a former Republican state senator from Fitchburg, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for those prior convictions. He is serving his sentence at Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, according to a federal database.

Tran pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice and making a false statement. He is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on Jan. 30.

In November 2023, Tran was arrested and charged in a 28-count federal indictment for fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits and willful omission of consulting and rental income from his tax returns in 2020, 2021 and 2022, Foley said.

While investigating Tran’s unemployment benefits and tax fraud schemes, investigators began looking into a job offer and job offer letter from Martin to Tran at a New Hampshire business owned by Martin.

During a July 2023 grand jury session, prosecutors said Martin gave false testimony about the employment offer letter.

For the charge of obstruction of justice, Martin faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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