Federal agents used a bullhorn and a battering ram to arrest Lawrence, Massachusetts Mayor Brian DePeña on charges he stole more than $1.5 million in pandemic relief money, and his lawyer's only response to reporters was that the mayor "doesn't speak English."

FBI agents descended on the 61-year-old Democrat's home on the morning of August 14, forcing entry after DePeña allegedly failed to comply. He now faces one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, charges that together carry up to 30 years in federal prison. Federal prosecutors say DePeña applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, emergency funds the Small Business Administration set up under the CARES Act to keep struggling businesses alive during COVID-19, through his Lawrence tire shop, Tenares Tire Services Inc. He allegedly inflated the loan from $150,000 to roughly $1.5 million, AP News reported, and then diverted the money away from the business entirely.

The funds did not go to keeping the tire shop afloat. More than $883,000 allegedly went to pay off DePeña's high-interest personal mortgages. Another $90,000 was funneled directly into his 2021 mayoral campaign fund, with the transfers disguised as campaign loans, the Washington Examiner reported. The rest, prosecutors allege, covered back taxes and other personal debts.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley did not hold back.

"Mayor DePeña was elected to be a leader for the City of Lawrence. He was looked up to and trusted by his constituents, but he betrayed that trust through his alleged corruption and lies. Today's arrest is just another example of our determination to root out fraud by anyone, even public officials, and hold elected officials accountable."

FBI calls the loan program DePeña's 'personal ATM'

Ted E. Docks, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division, framed the case as a direct betrayal of taxpayers who funded the pandemic safety net. The New York Post reported Docks's full statement, which described the EIDL program as "emergency financial assistance meant to be a safety net for struggling businesses, not Mr. DePeña's own personal ATM."

"When elected officials misuse federal funds for personal gain, they're breaking the trust of their constituents, and breaking the law."

DePeña won the Lawrence mayor's race in November 2021, the same year prosecutors say he was routing stolen COVID funds into his campaign. He had served on the city council from 2016 to 2021 before his election. Voters returned him to office in November 2025, apparently unaware of the federal investigation.

His attorney, Carlos Apostle, told reporters after the arraignment that DePeña would not resign. DePeña himself offered reporters nothing but a smile and a repeated "God bless you." When pressed further, his lawyer shut the exchange down with five words that set off a national firestorm: "He doesn't speak English. No comment."

'How is this real', viral clip draws millions of views

Video of the exchange spread rapidly on social media. The conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted the clip on X, where it drew more than one million views. The account's commentary was brief: "OMG. How is this real."

The reaction cut across conservative media. Radio host Mike Gallagher posted on X: "'He doesn't speak English, no comment' says the assistant of the mayor of an American city. Our melting pot has completely melted." Journalist Miranda Devine wrote that "English fluency should be a basic prerequisite for holding public office." Texas Republican congressional candidate Jace Yarbrough called DePeña "an unassimilated foreigner" serving as mayor.

DePeña was born in the Dominican Republic and has previously acknowledged that he came to the United States "without papers" before later becoming a U.S. citizen. The fact that an elected mayor of an American city could not, or would not, answer basic questions from reporters in English struck a nerve far beyond Massachusetts. It is one thing for a private citizen to speak whatever language he chooses. It is another for a public official, entrusted with governing an American city and spending taxpayer money, to hide behind a language barrier when facing federal fraud charges.

The pattern of Democratic officials in Massachusetts facing embarrassing arrests caught on camera is becoming difficult to ignore.

Post-arraignment car crash adds a surreal coda

The arraignment itself produced one more piece of footage that made the rounds online. Shortly after DePeña left the courthouse, video posted to X appeared to show the car he departed in crashing into a parked vehicle while attempting to drive away. The identity of the driver was not confirmed in available reporting.

Fox News Digital reached out to DePeña's office and to Apostle for comment. No response was reported.

DePeña is far from the only Democratic politician to land in handcuffs in recent months. But the details of his case, a sitting mayor allegedly stealing pandemic funds meant for small businesses, routing the cash into his own campaign and mortgage payments, then offering nothing but "God bless you" and a claim that he cannot speak English, stand out even in a crowded field.

$1.5 million in relief funds, zero accountability so far

The EIDL program was designed to be a lifeline. During the worst of the pandemic, small businesses across the country applied for emergency loans through the SBA to cover payroll, rent, and operating costs. Congress authorized the program under the CARES Act with the understanding that the money would go to businesses genuinely at risk of closing.

Prosecutors say DePeña treated the program as a personal slush fund. He allegedly applied through Tenares Tire Services, inflated the amount, and spent the money on himself. The wire fraud charge alone carries up to 20 years in prison. The money laundering count adds another potential 10 years.

Whether DePeña will remain in office during the proceedings is unclear. His lawyer said he will not step down. The city of Lawrence, a working-class community north of Boston with a large immigrant population, now finds itself governed by a mayor under federal indictment who, by his own attorney's account, cannot communicate with a significant portion of his constituents in English.

Cases like this raise the same question that surfaces whenever prominent figures connected to the Democratic establishment face legal consequences: where is the accountability from within the party? DePeña won re-election in 2025 while federal investigators were apparently already building their case. No one in Lawrence's Democratic leadership flagged the problem.

The broader issue of elected Democrats facing serious accusations while their party circles the wagons is not new, but every fresh example makes the pattern harder to dismiss.

Millions of Americans watched a mayor's lawyer declare on camera that his client cannot speak English, right after that client was arrested for allegedly stealing $1.5 million in taxpayer money. If the system that let this happen does not answer for it, voters will.