FBI particular brokers in Boston arrested Metropolis Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson Friday morning on public corruption costs.
Fernandes Anderson was beneath investigation by federal authorities and FBI brokers had been seen outdoors her house in Dorchester this morning as she was taken into custody, in keeping with WCVB.
She is going through 5 counts of wire fraud and one rely of theft regarding packages receiving federal funds, a courtroom submitting by the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Massachusetts says.
Federal prosecutors allege that in late 2022, Fernandes Anderson employed a employees member who was associated to her after which defrauded town by proposing an association by which the individual would obtain “additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay.”
“From in or about early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson was facing personal financial difficulty, which included missing monthly rent and car payments, an impending $5,000 civil penalty from the Ethics Commission, and incurring bank overdraft fees, which resulted in Fernandes Anderson maintaining low daily bank balances,” learn the submitting, which was obtained by the Boston Globe.
“On or about June 9, 2023, at approximately 4:11 p.m., Staff Member A texted Fernandes Anderson, “Bathroom” to let Fernandes Anderson know that Employees Member A was ready within the toilet at hand the $7,000 money to Fernandes Anderson,” the courtroom doc continued. “Within seconds, Fernandes Anderson texted Staff Member A, “Ready” to verify that Fernandes Anderson was prepared to just accept the $7,000 money kickback from Employees Member A.
“Shortly following these texts, Staff Member A handed Fernandes Anderson approximately $7,000 in cash at a bathroom in City Hall.”
The submitting additionally says Boston Metropolis Councilors weren’t allowed to rent rapid members of the family to their paid employees, but in 2022, Fernandes Anderson employed two such people.
Prosecutors say Fernandes Anderson later fired these two workers and was knowledgeable by the Ethics Fee of a $5,000 wonderful regarding that incident.
Then final month, Massachusetts’ Workplace of Marketing campaign and Political Finance knowledgeable her marketing campaign that it took contributions over the authorized restrict and did not file deposit data in a well timed method, WCVB reported.
“Her behavior, as alleged in today’s indictment, is a slap in the face to the hardworking taxpayers in the city of Boston who have every right to expect that the city’s funds are in good and honest hands,” Particular Agent in Cost Jodi Cohen mentioned in an announcement. “This case illustrates how the FBI, and our partners, are working hard every day to battle public corruption and the corrosive damage it does to people’s faith in government.”
Anderson represents District 7, which incorporates the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and a portion of the South Finish.
“Councilor Anderson was elected to the Boston City Council on November 2, 2021, becoming the first African immigrant and Muslim-American elected to the Boston City Council,” reads a bio of her on the Metropolis of Boston’s web site.
“Before serving as Councilor, Tania was the Executive Director of Bowdoin Geneva Main Streets, a parent advocate with the Boston Public Schools, program manager for a homeless women’s shelter, a business owner, and a child social worker. She has also been a foster mom to 17 kids while raising two biological children,” the bio added.
Anderson is predicted to seem in federal courtroom in Boston later this afternoon.
