Boston city councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested Friday on federal fraud charges, accused of funneling part of an inflated bonus payment to a staffer to whom she was related into her own pockets during an exchange at a City Hall bathroom, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Anderson, 45, who was facing financial problems, was arrested outside her home on five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said at a news conference.
Anderson was scheduled to appear in federal court Friday afternoon. A grand jury indicted her this week.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Scott Lauer confirmed in an email that he is representing Anderson. He declined to comment further.
Anderson was facing financial difficulties in 2023, partly because the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission told her it would seek a $5,000 fine from her for hiring immediate family members to work in her office, Levy said. Council members are not permitted to hire immediate family members to their paid staff.
“Despite the fact that she was under investigation by the state ethics commission, Ms. Fernandes Anderson hired another family member on her staff at Boston City Hall to handle constituent services,” Levy said. “That staff member was related to her. But Ms. Fernandes Anderson falsely represented to City Hall that there was no familial relationship.”
She went on to tell the staffer, a woman, that she would give her a $13,000 bonus, more than twice as much as she was paying to the rest of the staff combined in bonuses, Levy said.
“That supersized bonus came with a hitch,” Levy said, with the staffer being told they had to “fork over $7,000 in cash back” to her. The staffer, referred to as “staff member A” in the indictment, agreed, Levy said.
After taxes, the staffer received about $10,000 in her bank account. She withdrew the money in several transactions in May and June of 2023 before exchanging texts to meet at the City Hall bathroom that June 9, Levy said. The staffer gave her $7,000, he said.
Anderson became the first African immigrant and first Muslim elected to the council in November 2021, according to her biography on the city government’s website. She was reelected in 2023.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu urged her to resign.
“Like any member of the community, Councilor Fernandes Anderson has the right to a fair legal process. But the serious nature of these charges undermine the public trust and will prevent her from effectively serving the city,” Wu said in a statement.