BOSTON — Embattled Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty Monday to federal public corruption charges.
Fernandes Anderson will now likely face one year and one day in prison after she reached an agreement to plead guilty to charges of one count of wire fraud and one count of theft involving public funds. In exchange, prosecutors dropped four charges, including falsifying tax returns.
The 46-year-old was looking at up to 20 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines if she was found guilty at trial.
Her sentencing has been set for July.
BREAKING Boston federal judge accepts Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Andersons guilty plea in federal corruption case @boston25
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) May 5, 2025
Under terms of plea deal, Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson,46, is expected to get a sentence of 1 yr and 1 day, plus $13k restitution. @boston25
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) May 5, 2025
Fernandes Anderson will also have to pay restitution of $13,000.
That is the same amount in public funds Fernandes Anderson is accused of awarding as a bonus to a relative working in her city council office -- with the understanding that $7,000 would come back to Fernandes Anderson to pay an ethics fine.
That ethics fine, $5,000, was imposed on Fernandes Anderson in 2023 as a penalty for hiring two immediate family members to her city council staff. She was also required to terminate their employment. That was in August 2022.
A few months later, the Department of Justice alleged that Fernandes Anderson informed the city of a new hire -- with an assurance that the person was not related to her.
The charging documents refer to that new hire as Staff Member A -- and describe that person as a relative of Fernandes Anderson, but not an immediate family member. Staff Member A is the person who received the $13,000 in early May 2023. By June 9, the DOJ alleged Staff Member A had paid $7,000 in cash to Fernandes Anderson.
A federal grand jury indicted Fernandes Anderson last December. Calls for her resignation have been growing since then. In early April, she agreed to the plea deal and said she would resign.
Among those opposed to holding a special election: Secretary of State William Galvin. He put Boston’s elections department under receivership after the city ran out of ballots during last November’s election.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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