FBI Arrests Democrat Boston City Councilor

FBI agents have arrested Democrat Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson on Friday morning.

Fernandes Anderson was under investigation by the FBI for the last several months for corruption.

She faces “five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.”

Prosecutors allege that in 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired a staff member who was related to her and came up with a scheme where the family member would receive “additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay” to Fernandes Anderson.

EXCLUSIVE: 5 Investigates was outside the Dorchester home of Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson when she was arrested early Friday by FBI agents. https://t.co/4CpDmjL3cS 
…#Boston #CityCouncil #FBI #Arrest #Dorchester pic.twitter.com/z0Wkdat9MA

— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) December 6, 2024

Here’s what Fox News reported:

FBI special agents in Boston arrested City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson Friday morning on public corruption charges.

Fernandes Anderson was under investigation by federal authorities and FBI agents were seen outside her home in Dorchester this morning as she was taken into custody, according to WCVB.

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She is facing five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, a court filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts says.

Federal prosecutors allege that in late 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired a staff member that was related to her and then defrauded the city by proposing an arrangement in which the person would receive “additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay.”

JUST IN: Boston City Councilor Fernandes Anderson was arrested by the FBI on federal fraud charges related to a kickback scheme "Funded by the taxpayers"

Fernandes Anderson faces five federal counts of wire fraud and one count of theft from programs receiving federal funds… pic.twitter.com/BVfINBnoSt

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) December 6, 2024

Per The Boston Herald:

Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested today by federal agents and is set to be arraigned in a Boston federal courthouse later in the day, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a statement.

Fernandes Anderson, 45, was indicted on five counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, according to court records and a publicly available indictment.

The councilor — who represents Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and part of the South End — hired a staff member identified in court documents as “Staff Member A” in late 2022 who was related to her “but was not an immediate family member” and agreed to give the person a $13,000 bonus, most of which they would kickback to Fernandes Anderson, according to the indictment.

“At defendant Fernandes Anderson’s instructions, Fernandes Anderson and Staff Member A arranged to meet at a bathroom at City Hall where Staff Member A would hand approximately $7,000 in cash to Fernandes Anderson,” court documents said.

The two exchanged texts ahead of the meeting and “shortly following these texts, Staff Member A handed Fernandes Anderson Approximately $7,000 in cash at a bathroom in City Hall,” court documents said.

Fernandes Anderson is paid $115,000 a year as a city councilor, but the feds say she was having money problems.

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BREAKING UPDATE: FBI arrests Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, a Democrat, on public corruption charges.

Anderson is facing five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. https://t.co/4ltsfB2SOa pic.twitter.com/oy3PbL6qkn

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) December 6, 2024