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Ex-Massachusetts lawmaker convicted of scamming pandemic unemployment funds – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Ex-Massachusetts lawmaker convicted of scamming pandemic unemployment funds – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


BOSTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts state Sen. Dean Tran was convicted Wednesday of scheming to defraud the state Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service.

Tran, 48, of Fitchburg, was convicted on 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns after a six-day trial. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4.

Tran had been indicted by a federal grand jury in November, 2023.

Tran served as an member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing Worcester and Middlesex counties from 2017 to January 2021.

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After his term ended in 2021, Tran fraudulently received pandemic unemployment benefits while simultaneously employed as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based retailer of automotive parts, investigators said.

While working as a paid consultant for the Automotive Parts Company, Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits.

Tran also concealed $54,700 in consulting income that he received from the Automotive Parts Company from his 2021 federal income tax return, according to prosecutors.

This 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.

Tran, the first Vietnamese American elected to state office in Massachusetts, said in a statement Thursday that he plans to appeal.

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“We cannot allow facts to be misconstrued and human mistakes turn into criminal convictions. This is not the America that we know,” he said. “We will be filing several motions including an appeal based on the findings during the course of the trial.”

Tran defrauded the government out of unemployment benefits he had no right to receive, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said.

“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 written statement “Our office and our law enforcement partners are committed to holding accountable public officials who lie and steal for personal gain.”

The charge of wire fraud carries 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.

Tran unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan for the congressional seat representing the state’s 3rd Congressional District in 2022.

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In 2020, the Massachusetts Senate barred him from interacting with his staff except through official emails in the wake of an ethics investigation that found that he had his staff conduct campaign work during regular Senate business hours.

(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Massachusetts

2 of the largest fairs in North America are in Massachusetts

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2 of the largest fairs in North America are in Massachusetts


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One saw record-breaking attendance in 2024.

Children on a ride at The Big E.

If you attended The Big E or the Topsfield Fair this past fall, you were in good company.


  • These New England hotels, restaurants, and more are ‘must visit spots’ in 2025, according to USA Today readers

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Both Massachusetts fairs ranked among the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024, according to Carnival Warehouse. The list was ranked by attendance.

“2024 contained very positive indicators that North Americans have rekindled their romance for midways, outdoor shows, agricultural programming and food-on-a-stick,” wrote Carnival Warehouse on its website. “Most fairs saw increases over last year’s attendance, only 12 top-50 fairs saw decreases, most of which were nominal and all of which were due to weather.”

The Big E (the Eastern States Exposition) in Springfield ranked No. 4 with an all-time total attendance record of more than 1.6 million visitors. Seven other daily attendance records were also set this year at The Big E, including an all-time single day attendance record of 178,608 visitors on Sept. 21. The Topsfield Fair, at No. 40, saw 418,170 visitors.

Running since 1916, The Big E is New England’s biggest fair. The fair brought live musical acts, carnival rides, agricultural competitions, and food vendors this past September. All six New England states are famously represented on its grounds.

The Topsfield Fair, America’s oldest agricultural fair (running for more than 200 years), featured carnival rides, food, live music, rodeos, art shows, exhibits, and nearly 300 vendors this past October.

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For those looking to help boost attendance in 2025, this year’s fair dates are Sept. 12-28 for The Big E and Oct. 3-13 for the Topsfield Fair.

North America’s No. 1 fair in 2024 is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which saw 2.5 million visitors.

Check out the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024.

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Kristi Palma

Culture writer

 

Kristi Palma is a culture writer for Boston.com, focusing on New England travel. She covers airlines, hotels, and things to do across Boston and New England. She is the author of Scenic Six, a weekly travel newsletter.





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‘Lives are on the line': Mass. native living in Calif. describes wildfires

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‘Lives are on the line': Mass. native living in Calif. describes wildfires


As wildfires continue to spread through Los Angeles County, some from Massachusetts now living in California are faced with the likelihood of evacuations.

“Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go somewhere else if we have to,” said Justin Bitensky.

The native of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, now lives in Calabasas, a city impacted by the wildfires.

“As a dad and a husband, it definitely hits a little different,” he said.

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According to Bitensky, 70mph winds whipped through his neighborhood Tuesday night.

Since then, his family has been without power.

“At this point, everyone kind of knows someone who has been evacuated, or their home has burned down, or both,” he explained. “There’s almost no one who hasn’t been affected.”

The mortgage broker added that his family is waiting to see which roads remain open if evacuations do come to fruition.

“Lives are on the line, homes are on the line, people’s businesses are on the line,” Bitensky said. “I don’t think it can be understated how serious it is.”

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At Boston’s Logan Airport Wednesday, passengers who flew in from LA described the inferno from the sky.

“You could look out the window and see the flames burning,” explained Amy Aldrich of western Massachusetts. “You could see the black smoke. We could smell it. My daughter and I smelled it and said, ‘That smells like wildfire smoke.’”

“A lot of people got on planes to start heading kind of west and all,” said Cam Mahseni of Boston. “A buddy of mine, Chris, is in Pasadena, and he had to kind of evacuate, and a power line went down, too, outside his house.”

“From the highway, we saw the fire and the big smoke,” another passenger added. “It’s like a movie.”

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MBTA Communities Law is constitutional, Massachusetts SJC rules

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MBTA Communities Law is constitutional, Massachusetts SJC rules


MBTA Communities Law is constitutional, Massachusetts SJC rules – CBS Boston

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The controversial​ MBTA Communities Law is constitutional, the high court ruled, but changes are needed. WBZ-TV’s Tiffany Chan reports.

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