FITCHBURG, MA — Dean A. Tran, a former Massachusetts state senator, was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for defrauding the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and failing to report income to the IRS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced. Tran was also ordered to pay restitution of $25,100 to the DUA and $23,327 to the IRS.
Tran, 48, represented Worcester and Middlesex counties as a state senator from 2017 until January 2021. After his term ended, he fraudulently collected pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) benefits while secretly working as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based automotive parts retailer. Despite being employed, Tran illegally collected $30,120 in unemployment benefits, claiming he was unemployed.
In addition to his unemployment fraud, Tran concealed $54,700 in consulting income from his 2021 federal tax return. He also failed to report rental income he earned from tenants at his Fitchburg property between 2020 and 2022. By doing so, he evaded paying taxes on thousands of dollars in income.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley stated, “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. He chose to violate the public’s trust not once, but twice by defrauding the government out of unemployment benefits. His fraud and calculated deception erode the public’s trust in elected officials and diverted money away from those who truly needed it.”
This case highlights the misuse of government assistance programs intended to help those truly in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the serious consequences of tax evasion and fraud.
