Boston City Councilman Fernandes Anderson was arrested on fraud charges

A federal grand jury in Boston on Thursday indicted a city councilwoman on public corruption charges in connection with a kickback scheme in which she received thousands of dollars from an employee in exchange for a large bonus.

Tania Fernandes Anderson, who represents District 7 in Boston, was arrested by FBI agents Friday morning, Joshua Levy, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, told reporters during a news conference several hours after she was taken into custody without incident.

Agents arrested Anderson, 45, just after 6 a.m. outside her home in Dorchester, about 6 miles south of Boston. Her district includes Dorchester, Roxbury, Fenway and part of the city’s South End.

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steve Kelleher in Boston told reporters that Anderson surrendered to agents outside her home after they called her outside without incident.

“We believe she was in financial difficulty when she decided to steal for herself,” Kelleher said, calling her alleged crimes “a slap in the face to taxpayers and the city of Boston.”

“This was a situation of her own making,” the FBI special agent told reporters.

A federal indictment shows Anderson faces five federal counts of wire fraud involving aid and one federal count of theft related to programs receiving federal funds.

She was scheduled to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.

USA TODAY has reached out to Anderson’s office.

Updates:UnitedHealthcare is requesting privacy for the CEO’s family as the search for the killer continues

Charge: Employee gave Anderson $7,000 in the bathroom at City Hall

According to an 11-page indictment filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, each Boston city council has a budget of several hundred thousand dollars to pay salaries and bonuses for staff, including positions for chief of staff, communications and constituents Services.

Last year, according to the indictment, an ethics commission found that she violated conflict of interest laws by hiring two family members at City Hall and increasing their salaries.

Anderson was fined $5,000 for nepotism, the indictment says.

Most recently, the indictment says, Anderson gave $13,000 in bonus money to an employee – one of her relatives – after agreeing that the person would give some of the money back to her.

The relative’s annual salary is $65,000, according to the indictment, and online public records show Anderson’s annual salary last year and the year before was $103,500 a year.

According to the indictment, in two bank transactions at the beginning of June 2023, the employee withdrew a total of $7,000 from the deposited bonus payout. On June 9, at about 4:11 p.m., the indictment says, the employee texted Anderson to meet her in a restroom at City Hall, where she allegedly received the $7,000.

Trump hearing:The hearing on the assassination attempt becomes explosive when the head of the secret service testifies

So far, no one has been charged in a Boston city councilman’s public corruption case

Levy said prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury, which indicted the city leader.

As of Friday, no one else had been charged in connection with the case, Levy said, but added that the investigation was still open and ongoing.

Who is Tania Fernandes Anderson?

Anderson was elected to the Boston City Council on November 2, 2021.

According to her online city biography, before her election, Anderson was executive director of Bowdoin Geneva Main Streets, a parent advocate for Boston Public Schools, a program manager for a women’s homeless shelter, a business owner and a children’s social worker. She has two children and, according to her biography, has taken in 17 other children.

Breaking News

Dellupodisabato

Leave a Reply Cancel reply