Former Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was sentenced in federal court to one month in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to public corruption charges. The sentencing took place before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who also ordered Fernandes Anderson to pay $13,000 in restitution.
Fernandes Anderson, 46, admitted to receiving a $7,000 kickback from a staff member’s city-funded bonus. According to prosecutors, the transaction occurred in a bathroom at Boston City Hall. She pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. Fernandes Anderson was indicted in December 2024.
“Tania Fernandes Anderson was elected to serve her constituents but instead, she deliberately used her elected position as a Boston City Councilor to serve herself,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “From Boston’s City Hall to the Massachusetts State House, to local and state public officials, this office will continue to aggressively root out and expose public corruption. Massachusetts taxpayers deserve an honest government and accountability. As federal prosecutors we have no fear nor favor, and there will be no blind eye or separate justice system for the powerful. The rule of law does not make exceptions for anyone, including someone like Tania Fernandes Anderson.”
“Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson let the power she wielded go to her head and routinely put herself over her constituents who trusted her to act on their behalf and for their benefit. Today’s sentence holds her accountable for flagrantly embracing a culture of fraud and deceit and brazenly pocketing taxpayer money inside a City Hall bathroom to feather her nest,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Make no mistake, the FBI will continue to investigate and bring to justice unscrupulous public officials. We simply can’t permit such corruption to go unchecked.”
“The sentencing of Tania Fernandes Anderson demonstrates that no one is above the law,” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Fernandes Anderson used her position as a trusted elected official to steal from the City of Boston and the American taxpayers. IRS-CI is committed to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting all instances of public corruption, both in the Commonwealth and across New England.”
In 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two immediate family members as salaried employees on her City Council staff—an action that violated Massachusetts state conflict of interest law. She was required to terminate their employment by August 2022 after being notified by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission that she would face a $5,000 civil penalty.
Later that year, Fernandes Anderson falsely claimed in an email that another staff member—identified as Staff Member A—was not related to her when seeking their hire as a salaried employee.
Facing financial difficulties in early 2023—including an outstanding ethics penalty—Fernandes Anderson arranged for Staff Member A to receive a large bonus with instructions that part of it be returned directly to her. On May 3, 2023, she instructed city staff via email to process a $13,000 bonus for Staff Member A without disclosing this repayment arrangement.
Staff Member A deposited the check on May 26 and made three cash withdrawals totaling $10,000 over several weeks; on June 9 they gave $7,000 back to Fernandes Anderson during a meeting at City Hall.
Investigators also found that between 2022 and 2023 Fernandes Anderson used campaign funds for personal expenses rather than campaign-related costs. Additionally, she filed fraudulent tax returns for tax years 2021 through 2023 by omitting various sources of income including corporate earnings from 2021 ($11,000), misused campaign funds (2022-23), and the $7,000 kickback (2023).
Fernandes Anderson served as City Councilor for District 7—which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of South End—from January 2022 until July 4th this year when she resigned following these events.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Dustin Chao from the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit.
