Dean A. Tran, a former Massachusetts state senator, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and two years of supervised release for defrauding the state’s unemployment program on February 7, 2025. He was also convicted of failure to report income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The disgraced politician was ordered to pay $25,100 to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and $23,327 to the IRS as well as a $7,500 fine and a mandatory assessment of $2,300.
Tran served as a state senator representing Worcester and Middlesex Counties from 2017 to January 2021. According to the IRS, he fraudulently received unemployment benefits while still employed as a paid consultant, collecting $30,120 in benefits. He also concealed $54,700 in consulting income and the proceeds from his rental empire.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, explained why Dean A. Tran’s actions were inexcusable. She said, “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 and willfully omitting his taxable income.”
She added that his actions stoke suspicion of elected officials. Foley said, “His fraud and calculated deception erode the public’s trust in elected officials and diverted money away from those who truly needed it,” said. “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.”
Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Field Office, explained how this conviction will send a message to other offenders. He said, “Today’s sentencing of Dean Tran demonstrates that no one is above the law, even elected officials,” said “Elected officials are held to a higher standard when they take an oath to serve but to Tran, his oath meant nothing when he chose to steal from the America taxpayers on two separate occasions.
The special agent continued his remarks: “Tran stole from a pandemic unemployment program designed to help those most in need. Tran proceeded to harm the American public further when he decided not to report his taxable income, the most basic of principles all Americans are expected to follow.” Officials from the department of labor echoed these concerns.
Jonathan Mellone, a special agent from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, had his own scathing take. He said, “Former Massachusetts state senator Dean Tran stole taxpayer funds intended for American workers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.”
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The last to speak was a representative from the FBI. Jodi Cohen said, “Former Massachusetts state senator Dean Tran blatantly defrauded a government program meant to keep businesses and workers afloat during the pandemic, using the money for his own personal expenses, effectively stealing funds from others who needed them. The FBI and our partners will continue to crack down on frauds like this because willfully defrauding the government and cheating honest taxpayers is a federal crime.”