Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty Monday to reduced federal charges of wire fraud and theft from a federally funded program in connection with what prosecutors described as a kickback scheme.
The plea comes as part of a deal made last month and allows Fernandes Anderson to avoid other charges related to wire fraud for misuse of her campaign account and filing false and fraudulent tax returns for three years.
Under the terms of the deal, prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of a year and a day plus three years of supervised release, a restitution payment of $13,000 and an additional fine with the amount to be determined at a later time.
At no point during the court proceedings did the judge or prosecutors address or ask when Fernandes Anderson would surrender her City Council seat, as she said she would last month.
Fernandes Anderson told reporters after the hearing she believes her district deserves a vote on the city budget process, which needs to be finalized by the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1.
“It’s kind of difficult right now to give a date,” she said before departing the courthouse. “I think the natural transition is to give District 7 a vote for this fiscal year, or at least to finish the fiscal year. I’m doing everything to working with my council colleagues, the at-large colleagues, who are willing to make sure that constituents have representation.“
Asked whether she had anything to say to the public, Fernandes Anderson responded, “I want them to know that I am doing my very best to transition in a soft landing so that there is no more pain or hardship placed on my constituents any more than what’s already been done.“
During Monday’s 30-minute hearing, Fernandes Anderson testified with a demure demeanor and downcast gaze, her cream-colored hijab framing a frowned face. For much of the time, she mournfully answered the judge’s questions intended to ensure she understood the terms of her plea deal.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani asked whether Fernandes Anderson understood that, though she had a plea deal with prosecutors, a judge is not bound to abide by any sentencing recommendations — and, if the judge decided on a different sentence, that would not nullify her guilty plea.
“Yes, Your Honor,” Fernandes Anderson responded each time.
State Rep. Russell Holmes and state Sen. Liz Miranda both appeared at the hearing in support of Fernandes Anderson and submitted letters to the court in support of a lenient sentence.
Fernandes Anderson, who was born in Cape Verde and reportedly became a naturalized citizen in 2019, made history when she was elected to the Boston City Council in 2021 as the first Muslim American and African immigrant. Over the years, she has made a habit of drawing attention to her experience as an immigrant and delivering floor speeches in Kriolu, or Cape Verdean Creole, the island nation’s Portuguese-based creole language.
Her plea deal explicitly states that as an immigrant, her guilty plea could jeopardize her immigration status and make her subject to deportation — an outcome that federal immigration policy trends suggest could happen since the Trump administration has vowed to make an example of Boston on the issue.
Fernandes Anderson will remain on release until her sentencing, scheduled for Tuesday, July 29 at 3 p.m.
