Dean Tran, a former state senator from Fitchburg, has been found guilty by a federal jury of fraudulently applying for pandemic unemployment assistance following a six-day trial.
The one-time Republican candidate for Congress was also convicted of making false statements on federal tax returns.
The guilty findings, on 23 charges, were delivered Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Boston, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
He was convicted of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.
Tran, 48, was arrested in November 2023, with authorities alleging he made $50,000 as a consultant for an automotive parts company, in addition to thousands more in income from his Fitchburg rental properties.
He reported that he was unemployed at the time. Authorities said he collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits during the same period.
In addition to the 23 counts in the wire fraud case, Tran faces one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making a false statement from a June 2024 federal indictment stemming from the wire fraud case.
Tran's sister Tuyet T. Martin was also charged with two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury
Tran face additional charges in unrelated cases.
He was indicted on two charges of violating state ethics law in September 2023. The charges stem from long-standing allegations he had his Senate staff campaign for him on state time.
In July 2022, Tran was indicted for allegedly taking a firearm from an elderly constituent and misleading investigators about what had happened.
In 2020, Tran was unseated in the state Senate by Sen. John Cronin, a Democrat. In 2022, he ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives but lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan.
The following information about the wire fraud case comes from a press release from Levy's office:
Prosecutors presented evidence at the trial to show that after Tran's Senate term ended in 2021, he fraudulently received pandemic unemployment benefits while he was actually employed as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based retailer of an automotive parts company.
Prosecutors say Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in unemployment benefits.
In addition, Tran was found to have concealed $54,700 in consulting income from the the automotive parts company from his 2021 federal income tax return and thousands of dollars in income he collected through his Fitchburg property from the IRS between 2020 and 2022.
“Dean Tran defrauded the government out of unemployment benefits he had no right to receive. His fraud and calculated deception diverted money away from those who were struggling to get by during a very difficult time,” Levy said in a statement. “Our office and our law enforcement partners are committed to holding accountable public officials who lie and steal for personal gain.”
According to Levy's office, wire fraud sentences can go up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing for filing false tax returns can go up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Dean Tran, one-time lawmaker from Fitchburg, convicted of pandemic unemployment fraud
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