A former Massachusetts state senator has been arrested, accused of scheming to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the IRS, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.Dean Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was indicted on 25 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. Tran will be in federal court in Boston on Friday. “The indictment returned by the grand jury alleges that former State Sen. Tran exploited pandemic unemployment benefits – diverting critical resources intended for deserving individuals genuinely in need,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said. According to the indictment, Tran, who served as a state senator representing Worcester and Middlesex from 2017 to January 2021, fraudulently applied for pandemic unemployment benefits after he had already accepted employment as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based automotive parts company. While working as the paid consultant, Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits, the U.S. attorney said.Investigators said Tran also concealed over $50,000 in consulting income received from the automotive parts company on his 2021 federal income tax return, in addition to thousands of dollars in rental income he concealed from the IRS while collecting rent from tenants of a Fitchburg rental property from 2020 to 2022.If convicted, the wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of filing false tax carries a sentence of up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.Last year, Tran was charged with stealing a gun from a 77-year-old woman in his district. iN fall 2023, he was charged with using his State Senate staff to work on his political campaigns. Both of those criminal cases are still pending in state court.Tran left the State Senate in 2021 and ran for Congress last year, but lost.
A former Massachusetts state senator has been arrested, accused of scheming to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the IRS, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Dean Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was indicted on 25 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. Tran will be in federal court in Boston on Friday.
“The indictment returned by the grand jury alleges that former State Sen. Tran exploited pandemic unemployment benefits – diverting critical resources intended for deserving individuals genuinely in need,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said.
According to the indictment, Tran, who served as a state senator representing Worcester and Middlesex from 2017 to January 2021, fraudulently applied for pandemic unemployment benefits after he had already accepted employment as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based automotive parts company. While working as the paid consultant, Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits, the U.S. attorney said.
Investigators said Tran also concealed over $50,000 in consulting income received from the automotive parts company on his 2021 federal income tax return, in addition to thousands of dollars in rental income he concealed from the IRS while collecting rent from tenants of a Fitchburg rental property from 2020 to 2022.
If convicted, the wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of filing false tax carries a sentence of up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Last year, Tran was charged with stealing a gun from a 77-year-old woman in his district. iN fall 2023, he was charged with using his State Senate staff to work on his political campaigns.
Both of those criminal cases are still pending in state court.
Tran left the State Senate in 2021 and ran for Congress last year, but lost.
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Ex-state Sen. Dean Tran collected thousands in unemployment, COVID-19 scheme, US Attorney says - WCVB Boston
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