Convicted former Mass. state senator asks Trump for pardon

Local News

Dean Tran was found guilty of fraudulently collecting tens of thousands of dollars of unemployment benefits.

Former Massachusetts state Sen. Dean Tran, who was convicted of fraud in September, is asking President-elect Donald Trump for a pardon. Tran’s request comes on the heels of President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter this week. 

The request was made on Tran’s official Facebook page Monday. In the post, Tran tagged Trump, Fox News, Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, and Trump’s choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi. 

“A full investigation into Senator Tran’s cases and an unconditional pardon is warranted,” he wrote.  

Tran, a Fitchburg Republican, represented Worcester and Middlesex Counties from 2017 to early 2021. He was arrested in 2023 and was found guilty this year of 23 charges related to fraudulently applying for pandemic unemployment assistance and lying on tax returns. 

After he left office, Tran applied for pandemic relief funds after he had already been hired as a consultant for a New Hampshire-based car parts company. He fraudulently collected more than $30,000 in unemployment benefits while working as the consultant for the company. He hid more than $50,000 in income he made from the consulting job on his 2021 tax return. Tran also collected thousands of dollars in rent from tenants at a Fitchburg property that he did not disclose to the IRS. 

Tran posted screenshots from Biden’s statement outlining his reasons for pardoning his son. 

“‘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, partially quoting Biden’s statement. 

Biden had repeatedly vowed not to pardon his son, who was awaiting sentencing on two federal cases involving lying on a form for gun ownership and tax evasion. Biden’s pardon drew swift backlash. Trump’s nepotism has been well-documented.  

The president-elect campaigned on a promise to pardon rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He has so far declined to lay out specifics on the matter, and it is unclear whether he would consider pardoning Republican politicians like Tran, who were prosecuted on charges unrelated to Jan. 6. 

“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 U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement after Tran’s conviction. 

In a follow-up comment on his Facebook post, Tran claimed he never broke the law. 

“All charges against him were politically motivated and he was politically persecuted for being a Republican who can win elections in MA,” Tran wrote.