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Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson to plead guilty in corruption case
Fernandes Anderson was arrested last December for allegedly orchestrating a kickback scheme involving a member of her staff.
Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson will plead guilty to federal public corruption charges, according to newly filed court documents.
She was arrested in December for allegedly orchestrating a kickback scheme that involved a family member who she had secretly hired as part of her staff. She pleaded not guilty at the time.
But U.S. Attorney Leah Foley filed a status report Tuesday informing the court that Fernandes Anderson intends to plead guilty and has signed a plea agreement. Foley requested a hearing to finalize the agreement.
Fernandes Anderson agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, according to Foley’s office. The government is recommending a sentence of a year and a day, followed by three years of supervised release, and that Fernandes Anderson pay $13,000 in restitution.
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Fernandes Anderson represents District 7, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and part of the South End on the City Council. She defied calls for her resignation from Mayor Michelle Wu and multiple colleagues. Fernandes Anderson has been participating in City Council meetings regularly for the past few months.
Federal authorities allege Fernandes Anderson devised the kickback scheme when facing financial hardship in 2023. She told a recently hired staffer that she would give them a large bonus with the agreement that a portion of it would be secretly given back to her in cash, prosecutors said.
That staffer was related to Fernandes Anderson, but the councilor did not disclose the nature of their relationship to the city. She eventually gave out a $13,000 bonus to the staffer. This was about twice as large as the total amount of all bonus payments made to her other staff members at the time combined, according to prosecutors.
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Fernandes Anderson and the staffer arranged to meet in a City Hall bathroom in June of 2023 so that $7,000 could be handed back to her in cash. Authorities alleged that handoff did occur, and that text messages between Fernandes Anderson and the staffer show them communicating about the transaction.
Fernandes Anderson was first elected to the City Council in 2021 and again in 2023. She would be up for reelection again this year.
The full federal indictment can be read here.
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