FBI arrests radical Democrat on Boston City Council in connection with bogus kickback scheme
The FBI hauled away one of the radical Democrats on the Boston City Council Friday morning on public corruption charges. Steve Kelleher, FBI assistant special agent in charge in Boston, revealed at a press conference that Democratic Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who represents District 7, was arrested without incident outside her home in Dorchester. Anderson, an attendee and defender of Mayor Michelle Wu's racially segregated 2023 holiday party and a former illegal alien who avoided deportation, faces five federal counts of wire fraud and one federal count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. According to the federal indictment, Anderson — who previously hired her son and sister as salaried employees despite a prohibition against hiring immediate family members, then topped up their salaries by tens of thousands of dollars — allegedly: defrauded the City of Boston by (A) conceiving and proposing an arrangement whereby Staff Member A would receive additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay; (b) providing materially false and misleading information related to Staff Member A, and related to a bonus payment to be awarded to Staff Member A; (c) omitting material information regarding the bonus payment to be paid to Staff Member A; and (d) accepting approximately $7,000 in cash from Staff Member A pursuant to a concealed bonus kickback arrangement between FERNANDES ANDERSON and Staff Member A. The unnamed staff member is one of Anderson's relatives. 'This was a situation of her own making.' "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 service," U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said at the press conference. "That staff member was related to her. But Ms. Fernandes Anderson falsely represented to City Hall that there was no familial relationship." In the lead-up to the alleged kickback scheme for which Anderson apparently required her accomplice to sign a nondisclosure agreement, the Democratic councilor was dodging monthly rent and car payments, facing an impending $5,000 civil penalty from the Ethics Commission, and racking up significant bank overdraft fees, all despite making over $103,000 a year. Concerning her arrest Friday, Kelleher told reporters, "This was a situation of her own making." FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen said in a statement, "Using public office for personal gain is a crime, plan and simple." "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," added Cohen. Anderson, who chairs the council's civil rights, racial equity, and immigrant advancement committee, previously courted controversy by: refusing to properly take the oath of office; marrying a convicted murderer in prison; calling the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians a "military operation" after blocking the passage of a resolution affirming the city's solidarity with Israel; violating American immigration law and nearly getting deported back to Cape Verde before becoming a citizen in 2019; and failing to disclose campaign committee deposits in a timely manner and accepting contributions in excess of state limits. The Associated Press indicated that Wu suggested Anderson should 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[s] the public trust and will prevent her from effectively serving the city," said the mayor. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The FBI hauled away one of the radical Democrats on the Boston City Council Friday morning on public corruption charges.
Steve Kelleher, FBI assistant special agent in charge in Boston, revealed at a press conference that Democratic Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who represents District 7, was arrested without incident outside her home in Dorchester.
Anderson, an attendee and defender of Mayor Michelle Wu's racially segregated 2023 holiday party and a former illegal alien who avoided deportation, faces five federal counts of wire fraud and one federal count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.
According to the federal indictment, Anderson — who previously hired her son and sister as salaried employees despite a prohibition against hiring immediate family members, then topped up their salaries by tens of thousands of dollars — allegedly:
defrauded the City of Boston by (A) conceiving and proposing an arrangement whereby Staff Member A would receive additional compensation but would kickback most of this bonus pay; (b) providing materially false and misleading information related to Staff Member A, and related to a bonus payment to be awarded to Staff Member A; (c) omitting material information regarding the bonus payment to be paid to Staff Member A; and (d) accepting approximately $7,000 in cash from Staff Member A pursuant to a concealed bonus kickback arrangement between FERNANDES ANDERSON and Staff Member A.
The unnamed staff member is one of Anderson's relatives.
'This was a situation of her own making.'
"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 service," U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said at the press conference. "That staff member was related to her. But Ms. Fernandes Anderson falsely represented to City Hall that there was no familial relationship."
In the lead-up to the alleged kickback scheme for which Anderson apparently required her accomplice to sign a nondisclosure agreement, the Democratic councilor was dodging monthly rent and car payments, facing an impending $5,000 civil penalty from the Ethics Commission, and racking up significant bank overdraft fees, all despite making over $103,000 a year.
Concerning her arrest Friday, Kelleher told reporters, "This was a situation of her own making."
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen said in a statement, "Using public office for personal gain is a crime, plan and simple."
"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," added Cohen.
Anderson, who chairs the council's civil rights, racial equity, and immigrant advancement committee, previously courted controversy by:
- refusing to properly take the oath of office;
- marrying a convicted murderer in prison;
- calling the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians a "military operation" after blocking the passage of a resolution affirming the city's solidarity with Israel;
- violating American immigration law and nearly getting deported back to Cape Verde before becoming a citizen in 2019; and
- failing to disclose campaign committee deposits in a timely manner and accepting contributions in excess of state limits.
The Associated Press indicated that Wu suggested Anderson should 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[s] the public trust and will prevent her from effectively serving the city," said the mayor.
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Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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