Feds Charge Former MA Senator, Sister With Obstruction Of Justice

FITCHBURG, MA — Former Massachusetts Republican state senator Dean Tran is facing new federal charges related to his arrest in November on federal fraud charges.

Federal prosecutors said Friday that they will charge Tran and his sister, Tuyet Martin, of Pelham, NH, with obstruction of justice for making false statements during an investigation into whether Tran fraudulently collected pandemic unemployment benefits.

The new federal charges are the latest legal troubles for the former senator. A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Tran in September on two counts of violating the state ethics law. He was also charged in 2022 over the theft of a gun. He pleaded not guilty in both of those cases.

According to federal prosecutors, Tran in 2021 collected over $30,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits, and also concealed from the IRS about $50,000 in consulting fees he earned. The new charges revealed Friday have to do with a job offer Martin gave her brother to work at her New Hampshire auto parts company, Alecon Enterprises, Inc.

"[I]t is alleged that Tran made false statements to [federal investigators] about a job offer letter from Martin and whether Martin had actually written the letter and her signature on it. It is further alleged that Martin concealed and attempted to delete emails between her and Tran regarding the employment offer letter. Additionally, Martin allegedly provided false testimony before a federal grand jury in July 2023 regarding the employment offer letter," acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy's office said in a news release.

Tran served as a state senator representing the Worcester and Middlesex District between 2017 and 2021. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan.