Boston City Councilor pleads guilty to federal corruption charges
BOSTON (WWLP) – Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to wire fraud and theft connected to a federal funds program.
Fernandes Anderson, 46, of Boston, was indicted in December 2024. She currently serves as City Councilor for Boston's District 7, including Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and a portion of the South End. She was first elected in November 2021 and was re-elected in 2023.
Damage caused by suspected vandalism at South Hadley High School
Charging documents stated that Fernandes Anderson hired two of her immediate family members as salaried employees on her staff in 2022, which city councilors are prohibited by law from doing. As a result, Fernandes Anderson was required to terminate their employment in August 2022.
In May 2023, the Massachusetts Ethics Commission also notified Fernandes Anderson that it was seeking a civil penalty payment of $5,000 from her as a result of the violation.
In November 2022, Fernandes Anderson emailed a City of Boston employee to notify them that she was hiring an employee. This employee was a relative of Fernandes Anderson, but she falsely reported that they were not related.
The charging documents further stated that in early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson reportedly faced financial struggles, including the outstanding payment to the Ethics Commission. In May 2023, she told her employed relative that she would give them a large bonus if they gave a portion of it back to her.
A $13,000 bonus check was processed for the employee without disclosing to other City of Boston employees the repayment arrangement. The check was deposited on May 26, 2023, and Fernandes Anderson instructed the employee to make three separate cash withdrawals over the following weeks.
After the final withdrawal, Fernandes Anderson and her relative met in a bathroom at Boston City Hall on June 9, 2023, where she reportedly received $7,000 in cash from her relative.
The signed plea agreement stated that Fernandes Anderson also used funds from her campaign account for her personal benefit, and for tax years 2021-2023, she used fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS.
Fernandes Anderson omitted approximately $11,000 in income that she earned from a Massachusetts-based corporation from her tax return in 2021, willfully omitted campaign funds in 2022 and 2023, and willfully omitted the $7,000 kickback that she received from her relative from her 2023 tax return.
On Monday, Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. Her scheduling is sentenced for July 29.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The aftermath of Operation Spider's Web and what it means for the US military
Welcome back! Before we get started, I want to take a moment to honor the U.S. and other Allied troops who took part in the D-Day landings 81 years ago, including the soldiers killed during a rehearsal of the invasion in April 1944. The free world remains in their debt. Last weekend, Ukraine launched a daring drone attack against airfields thousands of miles inside Russia. Dubbed Operation Spider's Web, the attack drew global attention. It was more than just an intelligence coup de grâce — it was planned over 18 months and involved smuggling the drones into Russia and launching them close to their targets. The attack also revealed how vulnerable military installations within the United States could be to a similar strike. 'That's an assumption that we are far from the adversary, we have oceans separating us, that we're somehow far away from these threats,' said Masao Dahlgren, who writes about missile defense for the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, D.C. 'But as these kinds of incidents show, that threat is not as far as we would like to think.' While certain stateside military installations are well defended, U.S. service members at other bases would not be able to do much to respond to the type of small drone attack that Ukraine launched against Russia, a former senior Defense Department official told Task & Purpose. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said that while the service is working to bolster its defenses, it also needs to look at small drones' potential for offensive operations. 'If all we're doing is playing defense and we can't shoot back, then that's not a use for our money,' he said. Now that we've discussed Operation Spider's Web at length — and great name, by the way — here's your rundown of all the other news you might have missed this week: U.S. military consolidates footprint in Syria. U.S. troops deployed to Syria are closing seven of their eight bases in the country. In December, the Pentagon announced that about 2,000 U.S. troops were in Syria to fight the Islamic State group, or ISIS. Between May 21 and May 22, U.S. troops helped partner forces launch an operation that led to the capture of a suspected ISIS operative, U.S. Central Command recently announced. Tracking drones on the southern border. A platoon from the 10th Mountain Division deployed to the southern border is using combat radar systems to track a growing number of drones that are suspected of being used by Mexico-based drug cartels. Beyond their current role in the border mission, the radars have historically been used to detect enemy rockets, mortars, and other artillery, and some of them have been sent to Ukraine to defend against Russian aerial attacks. Hegseth: U.S. won't be 'pushed out' of Indo-Pacific. While speaking in Singapore on May 31, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stressed that the United States does not seek a war with China. 'But we will not be pushed out of this critical region,' Hegseth said. 'And we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated.' Navy destroyer's close calls. Houthi drones and missiles came far too close for comfort to the destroyer USS Stockdale last year, the Wall Street Journal has reported. During one attack, a ballistic missile was intercepted so close to the ship that sailors had to shoot down its debris as well. Later, the Stockdale had to use its main gun to shoot down a Houthi drone. 'When the drone dropped into the sea, the crew erupted in cheers and high-fives,' the newspaper reported. Iran preparing for U.S. or Israeli strikes. Iran is rebuilding its air defenses in case the United States or Israel launch airstrikes against facilities involved in its nuclear program, the Financial Times has reported. Israeli airstrikes last year destroyed or damaged Iran's most advanced surface-to-air missiles, including Russian-made S-300s. Iran's supreme leader recently rejected a deal offered by President Donald Trump's administration about Iran's nuclear program. Thank you for reading, and please remember that this week also marks the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Midway from June 3-7, in 1942. The Japanese lost four aircraft carriers that had taken part in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the prior year. The strategic victory was due in large part to U.S. Navy codebreakers, who learned of the Japanese plans ahead of the battle. See you next week! Jeff Schogol
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Risch urges 'top to bottom' USAID spending review after waste, fraud exposed
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said a thorough review of spending from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is warranted, following the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul the agency. USAID was an independent agency to provide impoverished countries aid and offer development assistance, but the agency was upended since February when President Donald Trump installed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to oversee the organization amid concerns that USAID did not advance U.S. core interests. Since then, the agency has faced layoffs and is being absorbed into the State Department. This increased scrutiny on USAID spending is valid, according to Risch. "The amount of money that we're spending on that has to be reviewed top to bottom," Risch said during an event Wednesday at the Washington-based think tank the Hudson Institute. 'Fired Me Illegally': Emotional Ex-usaid Employees Leave Building With Belongings After Mass Layoffs Risch said that several weeks into the Trump administration, he and others, including Rubio, evaluated a list of programs that detailed $3 million in funding for "promotion of democracy in Lower Slobovia." According to Risch, the description didn't provide enough information and items like these are totaling up to billions of dollars that must undergo review. Read On The Fox News App "Lower Slobovia" is a fictional place and a term used by Americans to describe an underdeveloped foreign country."We can do so much better, not only in how, how much money we spend, but how we spend it," Risch said. "So, if you say, well, we're eliminating this program, be careful you don't say, 'Oh, that means we're walking away from human rights.' Look, America is human rights. If America leads the way on human rights. We are the world standard on human rights. We have no intention of giving that position up." The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targeted USAID in its push to eliminate wasteful spending. The agency came under fire for many funding choices, including allocating $1.5 million for a program that sought to "advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities" and a $70,000 program for a "DEI musical" in Ireland. 'Hysteria': White House Shuts Down Concerns Over Usaid Document Purge As a result, Rubio announced on March 11 that the State Department completed a six-week review and would cancel more than 80% of USAID programs — cutting roughly 5,200 of USAID's 6,200 programs. Fox News Digital was the first to report later in March that the State Department planned to absorb the remaining operations and programs USAID runs so it would no longer function as an independent agency. The move means eliminating thousands of staff members in an attempt to enhance the existing, "life-saving" foreign assistance programs, according to a State Department memo that Fox News Digital obtained. Next Us National Security Advisor? Here's Whom Trump Might Pick To Replace Waltz "Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies," Rubio said in a March statement to Fox News Digital. "Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high." "We are reorienting our foreign assistance programs to align directly with what is best for the United States and our citizens," Rubio said. "We are continuing essential lifesaving programs and making strategic investments that strengthen our partners and our own country." Meanwhile, Democrats slammed the restructuring of the agency, labeling the move "illegal." "Donald Trump and Elon Musk's destruction and dismantling of USAID is not only disastrous foreign policy and counter to our national security interests; it is plainly illegal," the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said in a statement in March. "Congress wrote a law establishing USAID as an independent agency with its own appropriation, and only Congress can eliminate it."Original article source: Risch urges 'top to bottom' USAID spending review after waste, fraud exposed
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump asks Supreme Court to let him dismantle Education Department
By John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to permit it to proceed with dismantling the Department of Education, a move that would leave school policy in the United States almost entirely in the hands of states and local boards. The Justice Department asked the court to halt Boston-based U.S. District Judge Myong Joun's May 22 ruling that ordered the administration reinstate employees terminated in a mass layoff and end further actions to shutter the department. The Justice Department said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to "second-guess the Executive's internal management decisions," referring to the federal government's executive branch. "The government has been crystal clear in acknowledging that only Congress can eliminate the Department of Education. And the government has acknowledged the need to retain sufficient staff to continue fulfilling statutorily mandated functions and has kept the personnel that, in its judgment, are necessary for those tasks. The challenged (reduction in force) is fully consistent with that approach," the filing said. The department, created by a U.S. law passed by Congress in 1979, oversees about 100,000 public and 34,000 private schools in the United States, though more than 85% of public school funding comes from state and local governments. It provides federal grants for needy schools and programs, including money to pay teachers of children with special needs, fund arts programs and replace outdated infrastructure. It also oversees the $1.6 trillion in student loans held by tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford to pay for college outright. Trump's move to dismantle the department is part of the Republican president's campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. Closing the department long has been a goal of many U.S. conservatives. Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia, as well as school districts and unions representing teachers, sued to block the Trump administration's efforts to gut the department. The states argued that the massive job cuts will render the agency unable to perform core functions authorized by statute, including in the civil rights arena, effectively usurping Congress's authority in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Trump on March 20 signed an executive order intended to effectively shut down the department, making good on a longstanding campaign promise to conservatives to move education policy almost completely to states and local boards. At a White House ceremony surrounded by children and educators, Trump called the order a first step "to eliminate" the department. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans on March 11 to carry out a mass termination of employees. Those layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January. The department said in a press release those terminations were part of its "final mission." Trump on March 21 announced plans to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and its special education, nutrition and related services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which also is facing deep job cuts. Joun in his ruling ordered the administration to reinstate the laid off workers and halt implementation of Trump's directive to transfer student loans and special needs programs to other federal agencies. The judge rejected the argument put forth by Justice Department lawyers that the mass terminations were aimed at making the department more efficient while fulfilling its mission. In fact, Joun ruled, the job cuts were an effort to shut down the department without the necessary approval of Congress. "This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the department's employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the department becomes a shell of itself," the judge wrote. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called the judge's ruling "misguided." The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 4 rejected the Trump administration's request to pause the injunction issued by Joun.
