Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff was federally indicted on allegations of stealing $225,000 from Xavier Becerra.
Dana Williamson, 53, who served as Newsom's chief of staff from 2023 until December 2024, along with Becerra's former chief of staff Sean McCluskie, former high-ranking Capitol aide and lobbyist Greg Campbell, and two others, are accused of working together to take money from under Becerra's former political campaign account, The San Francisco Chronicle reports on Wednesday.
Becerra was then secretary of Health and Human Services during former President Joe Biden's administration.
The group is accused of conspiring to take the money under a "false pretense" and make the payments to McCluskie's wife, who was to monitor the account; however, that didn't happen.
"No such services were performed, and the payments of $10,000 per month, starting in late 2022, added up to $225,000 when they ended in the fall of 2024, the indictment said.
Williamson also allegedly subscribed to false tax returns claiming more than $1 million in business deductions for what were actually personal and nondeductible expenditures, including private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, home furnishings and designer handbags, as well as deductions for no-show jobs for friends and family, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of California.
She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted and a $250,000 fine for each count of bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud; up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy to obstruct and making a false statements; and up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count of subscribing to a false tax return.
“The news today of formal accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted advisor are a gut punch,” Becerra said in a statement. “I have voluntarily cooperated with the US Department of Justice in their investigation, and will continue to do so. As California’s former Attorney General, I fully comprehend the importance of allowing this investigation and legal process to run its course through our justice system.”
Newsom's spokesperson, Izzy Gardon, explained that Williamson does not work for the governor anymore.
“While we are still learning details of the allegations, the Governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity,” Gardon wrote in a statement. “At a time when the President is openly calling for his Attorney General to investigate his political enemies, it is especially important to honor the American principle of being innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of one’s peers.”
