Former Worcester Representative, MA Senator Sentenced To Prison: DOJ

WORCESTER, MA - Former state Sen. Dean A. Tran (R-Massachusetts) was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after being convicted of wire fraud and filing false tax returns.

According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Tran schemed to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance. He also failed to report income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

He was ordered to pay $21,500 in restitution to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and $23,327 to the IRS. He was also fined $7,500 and given a mandatory assessment of $2,300.

Tran was convicted of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns in September 2024.

The former Worcester and Middlesex Counties representative served from 2017 to 2021. He fraudulently received pandemic unemployment benefits after that term totaling just over $30,000.