Former State Senator Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice

BOSTON – Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to attempting to cover up a sham job offer from his sister’s company.

Tran, 50, of Fitchburg, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making a false statement before U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled by the Court. In June 2024, Tran was indicted along with his sister, Tuyet T. Martin.

Tran was convicted by a federal jury in September 2024 for fraudulent collection of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and his willful omission of consulting and rental income from his tax returns in 2020, 2021 and 2022. He is currently serving an 18-month sentence in federal prison for those convictions.  

As part of an ongoing investigation into unemployment benefits and tax fraud schemes federal law enforcement interviewed Tran at his residence while executing a federal search warrant. During the interview, Tran was asked about a letter that he provided to unemployment agency officials when his benefits were briefly suspended and he was attempting to have benefits reinstated. Tran made material misrepresentations to the federal law enforcement agents about the letter, including that his sister and co-defendant, Tuyet Martin, had authored the letter when she was not the sole author of the letter and Tran had revised it before it was finalized and submitted to unemployment officials. Tran also told federal law enforcement agents that his sister’s signature appeared on the letter when in fact Tran had signed the letter, not his sister.

The charge of obstruction of justice provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Labor Racketeering and Fraud, Northeast Region; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy, Lauren Maynard and Dustin Chao of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.