Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has agreed to plead guilty to federal public corruption charges in connection with an alleged kickback scheme to obtain thousands of dollars in cash from a staff member in exchange for a large bonus.
Tania Fernandes Anderson, 46, of Boston, has agreed to plead guilty to count one of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
In December 2024, Fernandes Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury. Per the plea agreement, the government is recommending a sentence of one year and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and restitution in the amount of $13,000.
Fernandes Anderson currently serves as City Councilor for Boston’s District 7, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of the South End. She was first elected to a two-year term in November 2021 and won re-election in November 2023.
According to the charging documents, in or about 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two members of her immediate family as salaried employees of her City Councilor Staff. Because City Councilors are prohibited by law from hiring immediate family members to their paid staff, Fernandes Anderson was required to terminate their salaried employment in or about August 2022.
It is alleged that, in or about November 2022, Fernandes Anderson allegedly emailed a City of Boston employee regarding her hiring of Staff Member A – a relative of Fernandes Anderson who was not an immediate family member – as a salaried employee. In her email to the City of Boston employee, it is alleged that Fernandes Anderson falsely represented that she and Staff Member A were not related.
From in or about early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson was allegedly facing personal financial difficulty, which included the outstanding $5,000 civil penalty payment to the Ethics Commission. It is further alleged that, in or about early May 2023, Fernandes Anderson told Staff Member A that she would give them extra pay in the form of a large bonus, but that Staff Member A would have to give a portion of the bonus back to Fernandes Anderson. Staff Member A agreed to the arrangement with Fernandes Anderson.
On or about May 3, 2023, Fernandes Anderson allegedly sent an email to a City of Boston employee to process bonus payments for her City Councilor Staff. In the email, Fernandes Anderson instructed the City of Boston employee to process a bonus payment of $13,000 to Staff Member A – more than double the total bonuses paid to all other Fernandes Anderson staff combined. Fernandes Anderson allegedly did not disclose the bonus kickback arrangement she had made with Staff Member A to the City of Boston employee.
Staff Member A deposited the bonus check on or about May 26, 2023 into their account at Santander Bank. It is alleged that, at Fernandes Anderson’s direction, Staff Member A then made separate cash withdrawals of the payment on three separate dates: $3,000 on May 31, 2023; $3,000 on June 5, 2023; and $4,000 on June 9, 2023.
It is alleged that, on June 9, 2023, immediately following the final cash withdrawal, Fernandes Anderson and Staff Member A arranged to meet in a bathroom at Boston City Hall. There, Staff Member A allegedly provided Fernandes Anderson with $7,000 in cash.
According to the signed plea agreement, for tax years 2021, 2022 and 2023, Fernandes Anderson filed fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS. Specifically, it is alleged that Fernandes Anderson: omitted approximately $11,000 in income that she earned from a Massachusetts-based corporation from her 2021 tax return; willfully omitted campaign funds that she used for her own personal expenses from her 2022 tax return; and willfully omitted income from her 2023 tax return.
Tania Fernandes Anderson will face a sentence of one year and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and restitution in the amount of $13,000. The charges against Fernandes Anderson were not related to her duties as a City Councilor, but rather to her personal financial dealings.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Boston Division and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Tania Fernandes Anderson is scheduled to plead guilty at a future hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
The Boston City Council has not yet commented on the situation.
This is a developing story, and we will provide updates as more information becomes available.
Related Federal Cases
- Cedric Cromwell, Federal Corruption Charges, Massachusetts 2020 · Washington
- Josimar Fernandes-Pessoa, Unlawful Reentry of a Deported Alien, Massachusetts 2024 · Alabama
- George Wickersham Accused of Public Corruption, Washington D.C., 1930 · Massachusetts
- John H. Goss Embroiled in Public Corruption Scandal, Waterbury CT, 1938 · Connecticut
- Joseph Kibbey Embroiled in Public Corruption Scandal, Phoenix AZ, 1907 · New York
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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