BOSTON — Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran, 50, of Fitchburg, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making a false statement for attempting to cover up a sham job offer from his sister’s company.
Tran entered the plea before U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in the U.S. District Court in Boston on Dec. 19, 2025. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the charges stem from Tran’s efforts to mislead federal investigators during an ongoing probe into unemployment benefits and tax fraud schemes. While executing a federal search warrant at Tran’s residence, agents questioned him about a letter he submitted to unemployment officials after his benefits were briefly suspended.
Prosecutors said Tran falsely claimed the letter had been authored and signed by his sister and co-defendant, Tuyet Martin, when in fact Tran revised the letter and was the sole signatory on the version submitted to unemployment officials.
Tran was indicted in June 2024 alongside Martin. In September 2024, a federal jury convicted Tran of fraudulently collecting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and willfully failing to report consulting and rental income on his 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax returns. He is currently serving an 18-month federal prison sentence for those convictions.
The obstruction of justice charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while the false statements charge carries a maximum sentence of up to five years. Both counts also allow for up to three years of supervised release and fines of up to $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy, Lauren Maynard, and Dustin Chao of the Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.
“The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said.
