FBI raids home of ex-state senator Tran

The FBI searched the Fitchburg home of former state Senator and one-time congressional candidate Dean Tran on Thursday to search for evidence in connection with an ongoing federal investigation.

FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera confirmed the search was conducted Thursday morning and declined to comment further, “to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”

In a statement, Tran’s lawyer, Joseph Rogers, said his “office has been made aware of the fact that federal investigators visited Mr. Tran’s home this morning and executed a search warrant.”

“Beyond that, we do not have enough information at this time to responsibly comment,” he wrote.

The search comes as Tran, a Republican, faces six charges in a separate case related to a 2019 incident in which he allegedly stole a gun from an elderly constituent and misled investigators about what happened.

That case, which was filed in Worcester Superior Court, is ongoing. According to the Attorney General’s office, Tran used his position as an elected official to intimidate an elderly constituent into giving him at least eight of her late husband’s guns. He allegedly made her sign a contract and paid her $1,500 in cash.

Last year a Worcester grand jury indicted Tran on charges of filing an application for a license to carry containing false information, larceny of a firearm, larceny over $250 from a person who is elderly or disabled, misleading a police investigation, obtaining a signature by false pretenses with intent to defraud, and stealing by confining or putting in fear.

The indictment also alleges that Tran made false statements on a renewal application for a license to carry a gun in May 2019.

Tran denied the charges and in response filed a lawsuit in federal court against then-Attorney General Maura Healey, in which he accuses her of a politically motivated attack. Her office filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

Tran left the Legislature after a tumultuous tenure. In March 2020 he was stripped of his leadership position with the Senate GOP caucus and was barred from interacting with his staff after the Senate Ethics Committee accused him of assigning his staff campaign tasks and asking them to help with fund-raising work.

ONE-TIME CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE

The search comes as Tran faces six charges in a separate case related to a 2019 incident in which he allegedly stole a gun from an elderly constituent.