Feds arrest Boston City Councilor Fernandes Anderson on public corruption charges

Federal investigators arrested Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson on a slew of public corruption charges Friday morning, alleging she stole thousands of dollars in public funds in a "kickback scheme" orchestrated with a family member on her staff, the U.S. attorney's office for Massachusetts announced.

A second-term city councilor, Fernandes Anderson has forged a reputation as a firebrand who fought for economic opportunity in her district. But last year, prosecutors allege, she defrauded the city of Boston to make her way out of a financial hole.

Fernandes Anderson, 45, pled not guilty to six felony counts in federal court Friday afternoon. She's facing five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft involving federal funds, according to the federal indictment.

"Public officials who line their pockets with taxpayer money erode the trust and confidence of the public and the officials who serve them," U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said at a press conference earlier Friday.

She appeared in court in a red puffer coat, with her appointed lawyer.

The councilor was released without having to post bail. She must surrender her passport and follow other conditions while she awaits trial, including reporting to a probation officer.

As Fernandes Anderson left court, those accompanying her shielded her face as journalists pursued her for comment. Her public defender, said there would be no comment today from him or Fernandes Anderson.

The next court date is slated for January.

Court documents outlining the allegations against Fernandes Anderson detail a months-long financial scheme between the councilor and a staffer she had denied was a relative. Levy said Fernandes Anderson agreed to pay the staffer a "supersize bonus" on the condition the staffer later "fork over" thousands of dollars to the councilor.

In June of 2023, prosecutors allege, the pair arranged a plan to meet in a City Hall bathroom for a cash handoff. At 4:11 p.m. on June 9, Staff Member A texted "Bathroom" to Fernandes Anderson. With seconds, the councilor responded, "Ready," and the two met. The staff member handed Fernandes Anderson $7,000 in the bathroom, according to the indictment.

Mayor Michelle Wu and City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune in statements both urged Fernandes Anderson to resign from the council.

"Like any member of the community, Councilor Fernandes Anderson has the right to a fair legal process," Wu said. "But the serious nature of these charges undermine the public trust and will prevent her from effectively serving the city."

The charges come a decade after former Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner served three years in prison for taking a $1,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant seeking a liquor license. Turner died in 2019.

At Friday's press conference, Steve Kelleher, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI in Boston, said, "It's like déjà vu, all over again — another Boston city councilor accused of embracing a culture of cashing in at the expense of the public good."

More recently, the council has been beset by other scandals. Former councilors Kendra Lara and Ricardo Arroyo were voted out last year after ethical lapses. Arroyo was tied to a federal investigation of the former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, Rachael Rollins.

In the Fernandes Anderson case, prosecutors say she hired her relative, who was not an immediate family member, onto her staff in 2022 with an annual salary of $65,000. The indictment states that around May 2023, she arranged to pay "Staff Member A," as the worker is called in the court documents, a $13,000 bonus, provided that the staffer "give a portion of the bonus back" to her.

The councilor also gave bonuses to other staff members, according to the indictment, but justified a higher payout to Staff Member A — "more than twice as large as the total amount of all bonus payments" to the other staffers combined — saying it was compensation for volunteer work. The indictment notes that Fernandes Anderson required all of her staff, including Staff Member A, to sign non-disclosure agreements.

The charges are a blow to the progressive council member, elected in 2021 to represent District 7, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of the South End. She was the first Muslim person elected to the council and an immigrant from Cape Verde who has championed issues of equity for her constituents.

But she has been no stranger to controversy during her tenure: In 2023, she was fined $5,000 for violating the state's conflict of interest law by hiring her sister and son to her staff. She was forced, as a result of the ethics commission probe, to terminate her immediate family members.

Levy said Fernandes Anderson was facing personal financial challenges in the wake of that fine. The indictment says in this period she was missing monthly rent and car payments and incurring bank overdraft fees.

"When faced with financial hardship and that state ethics commission $5,000 sanction, Ms. Fernandes 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.

Police detained the councilor outside her Dorchester home early Friday, video footage of the arrest published by WCVB showed.

City Councilor Erin Murphy on Friday afternoon told WBUR the allegations were serious, and the arrest "definitely puts a cloud over us as a body." She said it's possible the council should review the way it pays staffers so there's greater oversight.

City Councilor Ed Flynn called the allegations "troubling" and said Fernandes Anderson should resign. He said he's called for a committee on ethics under the council in order to restore credibility with voters.

The U.S. Attorney said this investigation is ongoing and could include others. Prosecutors declined to answer whether Staff Member A was cooperating with the investigation or facing potential charges.

Reports first began to circulate early this week that Fernandes Anderson was being investigated by federal prosecutors. She confirmed the investigation in a statement Wednesday, writing that she was not allowed to share further details. She pledged to do so "as soon as I can" and to keep serving in her elected role.

Louijeune, the council president, in her statement Friday said Fernandes Anderson has a right to due process, but, "Given the severity of the allegations brought against her, and the direct impact that they have on residents’ ability to see the Boston City Council as their faithful stewards, it is in the best interest of the body that she resign." Doing so, she said, would "allow the legal process to unfold without undue disruption to the body."

With reporting from WBUR's Zeninjor Enwemeka, Walter Wuthmann and Sydney Ko.

Click the red play button atop this post to listen to a conversation on WBUR's All Things Considered between host Lisa Mullins and reporter Walter Wuthmann.