Tania Fernandes Anderson, a Boston City Councilor, has agreed to plead guilty to federal public corruption charges in connection with an alleged kickback scheme. This scheme reportedly involved her obtaining thousands of dollars in cash from a staff member in exchange for a substantial bonus.
Fernandes Anderson will plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. As per the plea agreement, a recommended sentence of one year and one day in prison is proposed, followed by three years of supervised release, along with restitution amounting to $13,000. A plea hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Fernandes Anderson serves as the City Councilor for Boston's District 7, covering areas such as Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and part of the South End. She was first elected in November 2021 and re-elected in 2023.
According to the charging documents, in 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired her family members as salaried employees of her staff, against legal prohibitions, leading to their termination in August 2022. From March to May 2023, she faced a civil penalty from the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, which involved a $5,000 payment.
In November 2022, Fernandes Anderson allegedly misrepresented to a City of Boston employee that she and Staff Member A, a non-immediate relative, were not related. Facing financial difficulties, she allegedly convinced Staff Member A to return a portion of a $13,000 bonus she arranged for them, more than double the total bonuses given to other staff.
Staff Member A reportedly deposited the bonus and made several cash withdrawals, eventually providing Fernandes Anderson with $7,000 in cash. Additionally, Fernandes Anderson allegedly filed fraudulent tax returns from 2021 to 2023, omitting income and misreporting campaign funds and the $7,000 kickback.
The wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years, while the theft charge could lead to up to 10 years in prison. Sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division, and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Dustin Chao.
The details in the charging documents are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
