Convicted former Mass. senator wants ‘unconditional pardon’ from President-elect Donald Trump

BOSTON — A convicted former Massachusetts state senator who faces sentencing on Wednesday wants President-elect Donald Trump to pardon him after President Joe Biden announced he was pardoning his son, Hunter, sparing him of a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions.

Dean Tran, who represented Worcester and Middlesex counties from 2017 to 2021, said in a Facebook post on Monday that his September conviction for scheming to defraud the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance is deserving of an “unconditional pardon.”

Tran tagged Fox News, Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, Jim Jordan, Pam Bondi, and Donald J. Trump in the post.

Tran also quoted a line from President Biden’s official statement on his son’s pardon, replacing Hunter’s name with his own name.

“‘No reasonable person who looks at the facts of’ Senator Tran’s ‘cases can reach any other conclusion than’ Senator Tran ‘was singled out only because he is’ an electable Republican in a deep blue state,” Tran wrote in the post.

President Biden had long pledged that he would not pardon his son, who was set to be sentenced this month for gun and tax convictions. But on Sunday, he did it anyway.

The sweeping pardon covers not only Hunter Biden’s convictions in two cases in Delaware and California but also any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part, the Associated Press reported.

Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was arrested in November 2023 and later convicted of 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns, according to the United States Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts.

During his time as state senator, federal investigators say Tran 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 a paid consultant, the feds say Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits and that he concealed $54,70 in consulting income that he received from the automotive parts company on his 2021 federal income tax return.

This all was in addition to thousands of dollars in income that Tran concealed from the IRS while collecting rent from tenants who rented his Fitchburg property from 2020 to 2022, according to prosecutors.

“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,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. 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.”

In June, Tran and his 54-year-old sister, Tuyet T. Martin, were indicted on obstruction of justice charges.

Investigators said the pair “attempted to cover up a sham job offer from the sister’s company to Tran.”

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Tran is due back in court for a sentencing hearing on Wednesday.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group