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Massachusetts Mayor Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Pandemic Loan Fraud and Money Laundering

The Mayor of Lawrence, Mass., faces 11 counts of wire fraud and money laundering over alleged misuse of COVID-19 small-business loans; the case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 26, 2026, 2:51 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 26, 2026, 2:52 p.m. ET
BOSTON – The Mayor of Lawrence, Mass., Brian A. DePena, 61, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts announced on Aug. 26, 2026. The 11-count indictment, unsealed today, alleges DePena obtained over $1.5 million in COVID-19 small-business loans and used the funds to support his mayoral campaign, pay personal taxes, and pay off high-interest mortgages on properties he owned. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved; the charges are allegations and DePena is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. According to the charging documents, DePena applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for Tenares Tire Services Inc., a business he owned, in 2020 and 2021. The indictment alleges he used the loan proceeds for unauthorized purposes, including transferring funds to his campaign account and paying off personal debts. DePena was previously by complaint and arrested on Aug. 14, 2026. He will appear in federal court for an arraignment at a later date. The charges of wire fraud each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while each money laundering charge carries a maximum of 10 years. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 26, 2026, 2:51 p.m. ETFirst report

    Massachusetts Mayor Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Pandemic Loan Fraud and Money Laundering

    BOSTON – The Mayor of Lawrence, Mass., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of pandemic loan fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on Aug. 26, 2026. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved; the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

    Brian A. DePena, 61, was charged in an 11-count indictment unsealed today with four counts of wire fraud and seven counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges that DePena obtained over $1.5 million in COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for his business, Tenares Tire Services Inc., and used the funds for his mayoral campaign, personal tax debts, and to pay off high-interest mortgages on properties he owned. The charges are allegations, and DePena is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

    According to the charging documents, DePena applied for EIDL loans in 2020 and 2021. After receiving a $350,000 increase in August 2021, he allegedly paid $85,000 to the IRS for personal tax debts and transferred $120,000 to a personal account, from which he wrote checks totaling $90,000 to his campaign committee. After a second modification brought the total loan to $1,654,400, he allegedly transferred the entire $1,154,188 deposit to a personal account, used $42,112.96 for his campaign, and paid $883,293 to hard-money lenders. As of Aug. 5, 2026, DePena had made only 16 payments on the loan, with an outstanding principal of approximately $1,654,420.

    DePena was previously arrested on Aug. 14, 2026, and will appear in federal court for arraignment at a later date. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, along with officials from the IRS Criminal Investigation, FBI Boston Division, Department of Labor OIG, and the Massachusetts OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kistina E. Barclay and Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption Unit.

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Revision history

  1. Version 126 Aug 2026, 18:52current

    First published.

  2. Version 126 Aug 2026, 18:51current

    First published.

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