Boston City Councilor pleads guilty to federal corruption charges

BOSTON (WWLP) - Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to wire fraud and theft connected to a federal funds program.

Fernandes Anderson, 46, of Boston, was indicted in December 2024. She currently serves as City Councilor for Boston's District 7, including Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and a portion of the South End. She was first elected in November 2021 and was re-elected in 2023.

Charging documents stated that Fernandes Anderson hired two of her immediate family members as salaried employees on her staff in 2022, which city councilors are prohibited by law from doing. As a result, Fernandes Anderson was required to terminate their employment in August 2022.

In May 2023, the Massachusetts Ethics Commission also notified Fernandes Anderson that it was seeking a civil penalty payment of $5,000 from her as a result of the violation.

In November 2022, Fernandes Anderson emailed a City of Boston employee to notify them that she was hiring an employee. This employee was a relative of Fernandes Anderson, but she falsely reported that they were not related.

The charging documents further stated that in early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson reportedly faced financial struggles, including the outstanding payment to the Ethics Commission. In May 2023, she told her employed relative that she would give them a large bonus if they gave a portion of it back to her.

A $13,000 bonus check was processed for the employee without disclosing to other City of Boston employees the repayment arrangement. The check was deposited on May 26, 2023, and Fernandes Anderson instructed the employee to make three separate cash withdrawals over the following weeks.

After the final withdrawal, Fernandes Anderson and her relative met in a bathroom at Boston City Hall on June 9, 2023, where she reportedly received $7,000 in cash from her relative.

The signed plea agreement stated that Fernandes Anderson also used funds from her campaign account for her personal benefit, and for tax years 2021-2023, she used fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS.

Fernandes Anderson omitted approximately $11,000 in income that she earned from a Massachusetts-based corporation from her tax return in 2021, willfully omitted campaign funds in 2022 and 2023, and willfully omitted the $7,000 kickback that she received from her relative from her 2023 tax return.

On Monday, Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. Her scheduling is sentenced for July 29.