A hard-left Democratic city councilor in Boston was arrested on Friday morning on charges of funneling tax dollars through a staff member in a desperate bid to address her mounting personal debts.
U.S. attorney Joshua Levy announced that Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, a former illegal immigrant who won her first bid for elected office, was arrested on charges of five counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, according to the Boston Herald. She is set to be arraigned at a Boston federal courthouse later in the day, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy.
In its filing, the government describes a brazen scheme by Fernandes Anderson to award one of her City Hall employees a $13,000 bonus that she partially clawed back during a clandestine bathroom encounter that was recorded in text messages. According to the indictment, Fernandes Anderson in 2022 directed “Staff Member A,” someone “related to her but not an immediate family member,” to go into a City Hall bathroom and hand her $7,000 in cash, a kickback the feds say came from the tax dollars used to give the original bonus. “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 messages about the drop, and “shortly following these texts, Staff Member A handed Fernandes Anderson Approximately $7,000 in cash at a bathroom in City Hall.”
Video from an early-morning encounter with Justice Department officials shows Fernandes Anderson raising her arms and walking to the waiting SUVs of federal officers before being cuffed and placed in one of the vehicles.
At a press conference Friday morning, Levy explained that it was evident Fernandes Anderson was having financial difficulties at home, leading her to forge a criminal scheme to boost her $115,000 annual salary rather “than find a legal means to pay off” her debts. “When her constituents elected Ms. Fernandez Anderson, she had a fundamental obligation to act with the utmost integrity,” Levy said. “Public officials who line their pockets with taxpayer money erode the trust and confidence of the public and the officials who serve them. Public service is a privilege, and all of us in public service service have a duty to act with integrity and fairness in all that we do.”
Court records obtained by the Herald show Fernandes Anderson as early as mid-2023 began missing car and rent payments as she experienced “personal financial difficulty.” She was also hit with a $5,000 fine by the State Ethics Commission after violating conflict of interest laws by hiring immediate family members into her city council office.
The charges of wire fraud each carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of theft concerning programs carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Known as one of the most truculent members of the all-Democrat city council, Fernandes Anderson has had occasional outbursts against white members of the city council. During a heated 2022 council meeting where she spoke up in support of a progressive colleague facing rape allegations, Anderson boiled over. “What the f*** to I have to do to get respect from this council as a Black woman?” she screamed, pounding the table and earning a gaveling from the council president.
