FBI agents arrested a Democratic Boston official Friday morning on federal corruption charges, citing an alleged “kickback scheme” to steal thousands of taxpayer dollars from her own constituents.
Tania Fernandes Anderson, who is serving in her second term as city councilor for Boston’s Seventh District, was indicted on one count of theft regarding programs receiving federal dollars and five counts of wire fraud, according to the Department of Justice’s indictment unsealed Friday.
Prosecutors allege that Fernandes Anderson, facing financial challenges last year following a state ethics commission’s decision to fine her $5,000 for violating a conflict of interest law, conspired with an unnamed relative on her staff in an alleged bonus kickback scheme to defraud the city of Boston. Fernandes Anderson allegedly paid her relative a $13,000 bonus — more than twice as large as…
