Gavin Newsom's Former Chief of Staff Pleads Guilty to 3 Federal Charges, Faces 38 Years in Prison
A woman who served as California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief of staff and as a campaign consultant for gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra pleaded guilty on Thursday to multiple federal crimes.
The Department of Justice announced in a news release that Dana Williamson, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, subscribing to a false tax return, and making false statements to a federal agent.
“As part of an investigation that began in 2022, Williamson joins the two others who were charged in the ‘Conduit Scheme’ conspiracy in pleading guilty,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in the release.
“These conspirators, three of whom are former public officials, shockingly looted campaign funds for personal benefit. Our office and our law enforcement partners will continue working to protect the integrity of the electoral process and ensure that those who scorn the law are held accountable,” he added.
The campaign funds belonged to Becerra from a previous run for state office.
“Dana Williamson and her co-conspirators weaponized public trust for personal gain,” FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said in the release. “They stole from a campaign account, fabricated contracts, filed false tax returns, and lied to federal agents. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation spent years investigating this case because integrity in public service isn’t optional. No title and no political connection places anyone above the law.”
The news release stated, “According to court documents, between February 2022 and September 2024, Williamson conspired with Greg Campbell, 52, of Davis [California], Sean McCluskie, 57, of Davis, and others to steal approximately $225,000 in funds from a dormant political campaign and funnel it to McCluskie for his personal use. Collectively, they funneled the money through various business entities and disguised it as pay to McCluskie’s spouse for what was, in reality, a no-show job.”
Further, “From 2021 to 2023, Williamson claimed a total of approximately $1,718,277 million in business deductions for what were actually personal and nondeductible expenditures, such as food delivery services, luxury vacations to Mexico (twice) and Santa Barbara, private jet travel, purported wages for family members, home goods, veterinary services, landscaping services, and other nondeductible personal expenses.”
The fake deductions resulted in unpaid taxes totaling over $500,000, which Williamson agreed to pay as part of her plea agreement. Further, Williamson, Campbell, and McCluskie jointly agreed to pay $225,000 in restitution to Becerra, according to the California-based news site Cal Matters.
She faces a possible 38 years in prison for the crimes she pleaded guilty to, including 30 years for bank and wire fraud, three years for false tax returns, and five years for making false statements to federal investigators.
Williamson was Newsom’s chief of staff from December 2022 to November 2024. She managed Becerra’s state campaign account in 2018, while he was serving as California’s attorney general, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Becerra said in a statement following Williamson’s plea deal, “As I said from day one, I was not involved, I did nothing wrong. And now the record confirms it. We can close the book on this.”
Statement from @XavierBecerra on the Williamson plea:
“As I said from day one, I was not involved, I did nothing wrong. And now the record confirms it. We can close the book on this.” https://t.co/Vyn7LbRZGo
— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) May 14, 2026
Becerra, who served as the Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration, has surged in polling in the California governor’s race since the departure of former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell.
The RealClearPolling average shows Republican Steve Hilton in the lead with 20 percent, followed by Becerra at 19.8 percent, liberal activist Tom Steyer at 14 percent, and GOP Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 13 percent. The other candidates are in single digits. In California’s “jungle primary” system, the top two finishers advance to the general election, regardless of party.
Steyer said in a statement following Williamson’s plea that Becerra could yet be implicated, Politico reported.
“The case is not over with Williamson’s guilty plea,” Steyer said. “The facts remain that if Xavier Becerra had knowledge of the scheme’s purpose, he could find himself a co-conspirator in the case — and because federal rules prevent prosecutors from bringing charges within 60 days of an election, Democrats could find themselves facing an electoral nightmare in November.”
We know that @XavierBecerra likely broke state law, and now he’s at the center of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Democrats cannot afford to wake up on June 3 and discover we’ve got a criminal on our hands.
Xavier Becerra should not be our governor, and we can’t risk…
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) May 14, 2026
However, according to Politico, Williamson’s lawyer, McGregor Scott, told reporters, “My client has told me from day one she never had any direct communication with Xavier Becerra about this.”
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