Boston City Councilor Fernandes Anderson arrested by FBI on federal fraud charges
A Boston city councilor was arrested by FBI agents on December 6 after she was indicted for an alleged kickback scheme that netted her thousands of dollars in cash from a staffer in exchange for a large bonus.
By Veronica Haynes
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BOSTON (WCVB) — A Boston city councilor was arrested by FBI agents Friday morning after she was indicted for an alleged kickback scheme that netted her thousands of dollars in cash from a staffer in exchange for a large bonus.
Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson represents District 7 in Boston, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of the South End.
5 Investigates was outside her Dorchester home Friday when FBI agents placed her under arrest at about 6 a.m.
According to court documents, Fernandes Anderson faces five federal counts of wire fraud and one federal count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.
“These six felony charges stem from an alleged kickback scheme that she orchestrated to obtain several thousand dollars in taxpayer money in exchange for a bribe she paid to a staffer who gave she gave her a very large bonus,” U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said.
Fernandes Anderson is expected to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.
According to a federal indictment, Fernandes Anderson gave extra bonus money to “Staff Member A” with the agreement that the staffer would give a portion of the money back to the councilor. That staff member is a relative of Fernandes Anderson, something the councilor lied about, investigators said.
Since staff bonus information is publicly available, Fernandes Anderson said the larger bonus for Staff Member A was to compensate them for previous volunteer work, court documents said.
Video: Investigators on city councilor’s alleged kickback scam
Staff Member A’s $13,000 bonus was more than double the amount given to other staffers, investigators said.
“But that supersized bonus came with a hitch. Ms. Fernandez Anderson told Staff Member A she would need to fork over $7,000 in cash back to Ms. Fernandez Anderson. Staff Member A agreed,” Levy said.
Over the course of several bank transactions in June 2023, the staffer withdrew $7,000 from the deposited bonus payout, according to the indictment. That money was then surreptitiously handed over to Fernandes Anderson on June 9, 2023, according to the indictment.
“At approximately 4:11 p.m., Staff Member A texted FERNANDES ANDERSON, ‘Bathroom’ to let FERNANDES ANDERSON know that Staff Member A was waiting in the bathroom to hand the $7,000 in cash to FERNANDES ANDERSON. Within seconds, FERNANDES ANDERSON texted Staff Member A, ‘Ready’ to confirm that FERNANDES ANDERSON was ready to accept the $7 ,000 cash kickback from Staff Member A. Shortly following these texts, Staff Member A handed FERNANDES ANDERSON approximately $7,000 in cash at a bathroom in City Hall,” the indictment states.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing and no one else has been charged.
Earlier this week, Fernandes Anderson said she wanted to be transparent with her constituents, but declined to comment with specifics.
“I do not have any comment. You guys know exactly why I cannot comment,” Fernandes Anderson told reporters Wednesday at city hall.
In 2023, the state ethics commission found Fernandes Anderson violated the conflict of interest law by hiring her sister and son at city hall and raising their salaries to $70,000 a year. Fernandes Anderson agreed to pay a fine of $5,000.
Investigators said Friday the relative involved in the kickback scam was hired after the ethics fine was levied against her, and the scheme was hatched to pay the fine.
“Ms. Fernandez Anderson chose to violate her fiduciary duty and defraud the city of Boston, the indictment alleges, rather than find a legal means to pay off that debt,” Levy said.
Tania Fernandes AndersonBoston city councilor faces fine after putting son, sister on city payroll Last month, the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance sent her campaign a letter which said it had not timely filed deposit information and had taken contributions over the legal limit.
“I’m not thinking about quitting. I’m not thinking about stepping down. I’m not thinking about any of that. I’m thinking about the work and continuing,” she said Wednesday.
Fernandes Anderson has represented District 7 since 2021 and won re-election in 2023.
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