Former Sen. Dean Tran’s prison time extended with obstruction sentence

Listen to this article

Former state Sen. Dean Tran will have to spend a bit longer in prison.

The Fitchburg Republican, who is already serving an 18-month prison sentence for fraudulent collection of pandemic unemployment benefits and filing false tax returns, was sentenced on Jan. 30 to a year in prison in a separate case. Eleven months of the sentence will be served concurrently with his current sentence, while the final month will be tacked on to the end of it, extending his prison term to September.

Tran, 50, will be subject to two years of supervised release at the conclusion of his prison sentence.

Tran’s sentencing followed his guilty plea in December to charges of obstructing justice and making a false statement. The case involved Tran’s attempt to cover up a sham job offer from a company run by his sister, Tuyet Martin.

U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sentenced Tran in both cases.

Martin pleaded guilty on Jan. 21 to one count of obstruction of justice and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, federal law enforcement interviewed Tran while executing a federal search warrant, and asked him about an employment offer letter he had provided to officials in an attempt to have his suspended unemployment benefits resumed. Tran said Martin had authored the letter when in fact it had been revised by Tran, who then forged his sister’s signature, the office said.

Tran was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 2017. He was reelected to a full term in 2018, then unseated in 2020 by Democrat John Cronin. Two years later, Tran unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan for a seat in Congress.

Tran was indicted on two charges of violating state ethics law in September 2023. The charges stem from allegations he had his Senate staff campaign for him on state time.

In July 2022, he was indicted for allegedly taking a firearm from an elderly constituent and misleading investigators about what had happened.

Reporting by T&G Staff, Worcester Telegram & Gazette / Telegram & Gazette

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect