Boston City Councilwoman Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested on federal public corruption charges early Friday morning, according to the F.B.I.
Fernandes Anderson, who represents Roxbury, Dorchester and the South End, is charged with five counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting theft related to a program that receives federal funds, according to an indictment revealed Friday morning.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced indicating that Fernandes Anderson was the subject of a federal investigation.
It’s not the first time Fernandes Anderson, who represents Roxbury, Dorchester and the South End, has come under scrutiny. Last month, she was beaten multiple campaign finance violations after what state regulators called a “routine review” of campaign finance reports from November 2023 to September 2024.
The state Office of Campaigns and Political Finance cited the city councilman for failing to promptly disclose $32,900 of the $34,500 that was deposited into his campaign account at the time, MassLive previously reported, and ordered to pay a fine of $1,750. She was also forced to return $100 in excess contributions from another candidate’s committee.
Previously, in July 2023, the Massachusetts Ethics Commission subpoenaed Fernandes Anderson hiring his sister and son for full-time jobs to his staff after taking office in 2022. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and said at the time that he “corrected it” as soon as he learned of the problem.
Fernandes Anderson appointed her sister as director of constituent services at a starting salary of $65,000, then increased her salary to $70,000 with a $7,000 bonus in June 2022. Her son was named director of ‘office at the same time, with a starting salary of $52,000, but this too was increased to $70,000 only 11 days later
The councilor is in her second term and is the first Muslim, first undocumented immigrant and first African immigrant to be part of the council. He won re-election in 2023 with more than 70% of the vote in his district.
This report used material from a previous MassLive story.