Boston City Council member is arrested on fraud and theft charges

Associated Press

A Boston city councilor has been arrested on federal fraud charges, accused of funneling part of an inflated bonus payment to a staffer to whom she was related into her own pockets during an exchange at a City Hall bathroom. U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy says 45-year-old Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested outside her home Friday on five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft. Her attorney has declined to comment. Levy said Fernandes Anderson was facing financial difficulties in 2023, partly because the state ethics commission told her it would seek a $5,000 fine from her for hiring immediate family members to work in her office. The staffer who paid her also was related to her.