BOSTON - Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for attempting to cover up a fraudulent job offer and job offer letter from his sister's company.

Tran, 50, of Fitchburg, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to one year in prison, 11 months to run concurrent with his current sentence and one month to run consecutive, to be followed by 18 months of supervised release to run concurrent with his current sentence. In December 2025, Tran pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making a false statement. Tran was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024 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.

"This case is clear and simple. It is about entitlement. Entitlement to benefits Mr. Tran was not owed, entitlement to lie when confronted and entitlement to blame everyone but himself. Dean Tran did not only commit fraud; he lied, obstructed justice and tried to derail a federal investigation to protect himself. Even after being convicted, Dean Tran continued to deny responsibility for his actions," said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. "Today's sentence makes one thing clear: if you think you can lie to federal agents, manipulate the system and obstruct justice - you are sorely mistaken. As we have said over and over, no one is above the law. Justice is blind to power, wealth and status."

"This investigation underscores our continued commitment to protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance system," said Anthony P. D'Esposito, Inspector General, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. "Mr. Tran's fraudulent receipt of pandemic unemployment benefits was compounded by false statements made to federal law enforcement during the execution of a lawful search warrant. Individuals who exploit critical benefit programs and attempt to obstruct investigations will be held accountable."

"Today's sentencing of Dean Tran demonstrates that lying to federal law enforcement officers is a serious offense," said Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. "Obstruction of justice, at a minimum, prolongs an investigation and costs the American taxpayers thousands of additional dollars. In these situations, obstruction can lead to the destruction or loss of evidence, allowing guilty parties to evade justice and deprive their victims of a fair and just outcome."

"Anyone who obstructs a federal investigation is attempting to subvert the course of justice, and when a former Massachusetts State Senator does it, that's even more egregious," said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. "The FBI and our partners will always seek to hold those foolish enough to try to interfere with our cases accountable because it is a direct threat to our entire system of justice."

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 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 the letter 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.

In January 2026, Martin pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Foley; DOL IG D'Esposito; IRS-CI SAC Demeo; and FBI SAC Docks made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy, Lauren Maynard and Dustin Chao of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.