Bean Town Times

An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Boston charging former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran and his sister for allegedly attempting to cover up a sham job offer from the sister’s company to Tran.

Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making a false statement. His sister, Tuyet T. Martin, 54, of Pelham, N.H., was indicted on two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury. Martin was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston this afternoon. Tran will appear at a later date.

In November 2023, Tran was arrested and charged in a 28-count federal indictment for his alleged fraudulent collection of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and his willful omission of consulting and rental income from his tax returns in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

“The charges against Dean Tran and his sister represent a serious breach of public trust,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Their alleged calculated effort to defraud the government and deceive federal investigators demonstrates a disturbing disregard for the law. Our office remains committed to uncovering and prosecuting fraud and corruption, as this case makes clear.”

“Anyone who obstructs a federal investigation is attempting to subvert the course of justice,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Today, former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran and his sister Tuyet Martin are accused of doing exactly that, in an effort to conceal Mr. Tran’s alleged attempts to steal tens of thousands of dollars from public assistance programs at the expense of those in need. Make no mistake; the FBI and our partners will not hesitate to bring to justice anyone foolish enough to try to interfere with our cases.”

“An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations involving the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) unemployment insurance program as well as allegations involving the obstruction of DOL investigations,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone, Northeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

“The indictment and arrest demonstrate the IRS’s commitment to prosecuting those who break the law but also those who knowingly obstruct Federal investigations,” said Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr., Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Boston Field Office.

According to the indictment, as part of the investigation into Tran’s unemployment benefits and tax fraud schemes, an investigation began into a purported job offer from Martin to Tran at Alecon Enterprises Inc., where Martin was an owner and CEO. In June 2022, during a search warrant execution at Tran’s residence, it is alleged that Tran made false statements about a job offer letter from Martin. It is further alleged that Martin concealed 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.

The charge for obstruction provides for up to 20 years in prison with three years supervised release plus fines up to $250,000 each for both defendants if convicted; false statements carry up five years imprisonment plus similar penalties; perjury charges also carry potential five-year sentences with equivalent fines if proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt under U.S Sentencing Guidelines statutes governing criminal cases sentencing determinations by district judges accordingly announced jointly today by officials involved including Acting US Atty Levy alongside FBI SAC Cohen-DOL-OIG SAC Mellone-IRS-CI SAC Chavis Assistant US Attys John Mulcahy Dustin Chao Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit handling prosecution efforts while stressing innocence presumption until guilt proven otherwise within courts law contextually overall