A Massachusetts businessman from Dorchester has been sentenced for his involvement in a payroll tax fraud scheme. Det Tran, aged 62, received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution exceeding $2.5 million.
The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin in Boston federal court. In September 2024, Tran admitted guilt to two counts related to the failure to collect and remit employment taxes.
Tran owned and managed HTP Temp. Inc., a temporary employment agency that operated from at least 2018 through 2021. During this period, Tran paid approximately $8 million in cash wages "off the books" to employees of HTP Temp. Inc., thereby evading more than $2.1 million in employment taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This concealment led his accountant to file false quarterly reports regarding employee wages and tax withholdings.
The announcement of Tran's sentencing was made by United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy along with Jonathan Wlodyka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS’s Criminal Investigations in Boston. The Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts also contributed assistance during the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman from the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted this case.