The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Tania Fernandes Anderson on corruption charges. 

Fox News reports that Fernandes Anderson is a Democrat who was a member of the Boston, Massachusetts, city council.

She remains a remember of the council at the time of the writing, although many expect this to change in the coming days.

Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, is already calling for Fernandes Anderson's resignation.

The allegations

The U.S. Department of Justice's District of Massachusetts published a press release on the matter on Friday.

Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, has put out a statement explaining:

The FBI arrested Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson today for allegedly orchestrating a kickback scheme in which she stole thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for herself.

The press release goes on to provide more details - of which there are many. It states:

According to court documents, in or about 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two members of her immediate family as salaried employees of her City Councilor Staff. Because City Councilors are prohibited by law from hiring immediate family members to their paid staff, Fernandes Anderson was required to terminate their salaried employment in or about August 2022.

She did not terminate that employment, though. Instead, she found a way to get them more money.

For example, the press release states:

On or about May 3, 2023, Fernandes Anderson allegedly sent an email to a City of Boston employee to process bonus payments for her City Councilor Staff. In the email, Fernandes Anderson instructed the City of Boston employee to process a bonus payment of $13,000 to Staff Member A (a family member) – more than twice as large as the total amount of all bonus payments to Fernandes Anderson’s other staff combined. Fernandes Anderson allegedly did not disclose the bonus kickback arrangement she had made with Staff Member A to the City of Boston employee.

Up to 20 years of imprisonment

Fernandes Anderson has been hit with a slew of charges.

These include "five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft."

She could be looking at some serious prison time.

The press release explains:

The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Fernandes Anderson has not released a public statement on the matter, at the time of this writing.