Boston City Council Member is Arrested on Fraud and Theft Charges

A Boston city councilor was arrested Friday on federal fraud charges, the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI said.

The agencies, which announced the arrest on the social platform X, did not name the councilor and planned to announce more details at a news conference Friday morning. But a document filed in U.S. District Court in Boston shows that Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested Friday on five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds.

The document did not show that she had an attorney. Email and phone messages seeking comment were left at her office.

An indictment alleges that Fernandes Anderson hired a staff member in 2022 who is related to her and agreed to give that person a $13,000 bonus, most of which they would kick back to her.

“At defendant Fernandes Anderson’s instructions, Fernandes Anderson and Staff Member A arranged to meet at a bathroom at City Hall where Staff Member A would hand approximately $7,000 in cash to Fernandes Anderson,” the court document said.

The two exchanged texts ahead of that meeting, the document said.

Fernandes 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.

This article was originally published by the AP.