Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson Photo: City of Boston
Updated 12/7/24 11:00 a.m.
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested at her Dorchester home Friday morning on charges of stealing $7,000 as part of a kickback scheme.
Fernandes Anderson, who represents District 7, is charged with five counts of Wire Fraud and one count of Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds.
A federal indictment claims Fernandes Anderson was facing financial difficulty in 2023, including late rent and car payments and recurring bank overdraft fees. She was also fined $5,000 by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, which found that after she took office in 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two immediate family members as salaried city employees, which is illegal. She was required to fire them and pay the fine.
Federal investigators said in late 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired someone she was related to but wasn't an immediate family member. That person is referred to as "Staff Member A" in the indictment. Fernandes Anderson allegedly lied to her staff in an email, stating that she was not related to Staff Member A.
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Fernandes Anderson then allegedly gave this staffer a $13,000 bonus on the condition that she receive $7,000 of it in kickbacks. She told her staff that Staff Member A would be getting a higher bonus to pay them for prior volunteer work, according to court documents.
The indictment said that after the bonus check was deposited into a bank account, Fernandes Anderson told Staff Member A to withdraw multiple cash payments, which were handed off to Fernandes Anderson in a Boston City Hall bathroom.
U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy announcing the charges against Councilor Fernandes Anderson at a press conference Friday morning. Photo: Kendall Buhl/WBZ NewsRadio
"When her constituents elected Ms. Fernandes Anderson, she had a fundamental obligation to act with the upmost integrity," U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said at a press conference Friday. "Public officials who line their pockets with tax payer money erode the trust and confidence of the public and the officials who serve them."
In a statement to WBZ NewsRadio, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu urged Fernandes Anderson to resign.
"Like any member of the community, Councilor Fernandes Anderson has the right to a fair legal process. But the serious nature of these charges undermine the public trust and will prevent her from effectively serving the city," Wu said.
Many Boston residents told WBZ NewsRadio they would wait for the legal process to play out before making judgments. But, one resident said "we put a lot of confidence in our local politicians, so it's not great."
One man said $7,000 was not a lot of money, and one woman said that "everybody goes through something in life so can't fault her."
Fernandes Anderson appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. She was released without bail on conditions that she stay in Massachusetts, surrender her passport, report to probation officers, and stay away from witnesses in the case.
A status conference is scheduled for Jan. 29.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports
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