Former state senator Dean Tran sentenced to 18 months for unemployment fraud and tax evasion

BOSTON — Former State Senator Dean Tran was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston to 18 months in jail for defrauding the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and failing to report income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Tran 48, of Fitchburg, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 18 months in a federal prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced in a statement. Tran was also ordered to pay $25,100 in restitution to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and $23,327 to the IRS, as well as a $7,500 fine and a $2,300 mandatory assessment.

In September 2024, Tran was found guilty of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023.

Tran, who was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States at the age of four, holds a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and is a father of four. He began his public service career as a Fitchburg city councilor, serving for 12 years. He made history as the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Massachusetts State Senate, winning a 2017 special election in the Worcester and Middlesex District. He won re-election for a full term in 2018, but was defeated in 2020 by Democrat John Cronin. In 2022, Tran made an unsuccessful bid to unseat U.S. Representative Lori Trahan in Congress.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, when Tran’s state senate term ended in 2021, he fraudulently received $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits while simultaneously working as a paid consultant for the Automotive Parts Company, a New Hampshire-based auto parts retailer.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported that Tran also failed to report $54,700 in consulting income from the Automotive Parts Company on his 2021 federal tax return. He also concealed thousands of dollars in rental income received from tenants at his Fitchburg property between 2020 and 2022.

“When Dean Tran took his oath of office as a Massachusetts State Senator, he willingly entered into a world of being in the public eye,” United States Attorney Leah Foley said. “He chose to violate the public’s trust not once, but twice by defrauding the government out of unemployment benefits and willfully omitting his taxable income. His fraud and calculated deception erode the public’s trust in elected officials and diverted money away from those who truly needed it. Our office and our law enforcement partners are committed to rooting out public officials who violate the law and holding them accountable for their actions.”

Tran’s lawyer, Michael Walsh, argued that Tran’s conduct caused no financial loss to the government and suggested that Judge Saylor sentence him to two years of probation, including five months under house arrest. Meanwhile, prosecutors sought a two-year prison term for Tran, citing in their sentencing memorandum that his offenses were driven by greed and that he exhibited no remorse, according to The Boston Globe.

“Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran stole taxpayer funds intended for American workers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent-in-Charge, Northeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “His sentencing affirms the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to prioritize and investigate allegations of fraud involving the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) unemployment insurance (UI) program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the UI system from those who exploit this critical benefit program.”

In a statement, Tran said he intends to appeal the verdict and maintains his innocence.

“This is nothing more than a politically motivated witch hunt started under Rachael Rollins using the FBI election crimes unit to interfere with my 2022 congressional campaign and prevent me from seeking future office,” said Tran. Later adding, “There was no defrauding, stealing, or scheming of pandemic unemployment assistance. I was unemployed and worked part-time, these were qualifying conditions. As a former state senator, I was given a set of instructions that I followed. There was no tax cheating, and these charges are bogus. An accounting firm confirmed the IRS owes me money.”

On December 3, 2024, Tran asked then President-elect Donald Trump for a pardon on his Facebook page. This appeal followed President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter earlier in the week.

Tran is set to stand trial in a separate federal case concerning a different unemployment fraud scheme he allegedly concocted with his sister.

In June of last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts charged Tran and his sister with obstruction of justice and making false statements. The charges stem from an incident where they allegedly crafted a fraudulent job offer letter from his sister’s company, failing to disclose her position as the owner and chief executive. The indictment, unsealed in federal court in Boston, claims the letter was utilized to bolster Tran’s appeal after his initial denial of COVID-19 pandemic unemployment assistance. A trial date has not been set for this case yet, according to The Boston Globe.

Tran also faces two additional cases in state court.

Tran is set to appear in Worcester Superior Court on March 10 for a trial regarding allegations that he stole a gun from an elderly constituent in 2019 and misled investigators regarding the matter.

Additionally, in 2023, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell charged Tran with allegedly violating state ethics laws by using his legislative staff for campaign work during his 2018 and 2020 reelection campaigns. After his motion to dismiss the charges was denied by a Suffolk Superior Court judge, Tran appealed the ruling. The appeal is now pending before the state Supreme Judicial Court.