Newsom aide pleads guilty in Becerra fraud case

By Jeanne Kuang, CalMatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, arrives for a hearing at the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse in Sacramento on May 14, 2026. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

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A former political consultant for Democratic frontrunner for governor Xavier Becerra and ex-aide to Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, submitting a false tax return and lying to federal investigators. 

The consultant, Dana Williamson, was charged in a corruption scandal that shocked Sacramento. Following an investigation that included FBI wiretaps and seized communications, prosecutors accused Williamson of conspiring with Becerra’s longtime chief of staff Sean McCluskie and another Sacramento lobbyist to divert $225,000 from Becerra’s dormant state campaign account into McCluskie’s hands. 

As part of the plea deal, Williamson, McCluskie and the other lobbyist jointly agreed to pay $225,000 in restitution to Becerra. Williamson also agreed to pay $500,000 in restitution to the IRS. Prosecutors have agreed to seek the standard sentencing for the fraud charge under federal guidelines, which is about 2.5 to 3 years. 

Her attorney, former U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott, said he will argue against sending her to prison during a hearing scheduled for July that is likely to be delayed as Williamson recovers from a liver transplant.

Williamson’s plea comes just over two weeks before the primary election that will determine whether Becerra advances to the November election.

According to the indictment, the money was to help McCluskie follow Becerra to Washington when he was named U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. McCluskie’s job there offered a lower salary, and he was splitting time between Washington and California, where his wife and children remained. 

Prosecutors say the Democratic operatives charged Becerra’s dormant campaign account $7,500 to 10,000 a month under the guise of maintaining it for legal compliance, but instead routed it to McCluskie through a no-show job for his wife, in violation of federal laws prohibiting federal employees from being involved in campaign activities. The investigation was launched during the Biden administration and the scheme began prior to Williamson’s two years serving as Newsom’s chief of staff. 

McCluskie and the other lobbyist, Greg Campbell, pleaded guilty to fraud in the case. Williamson also faced a variety of tax charges alleging she falsely deducted luxury goods and vacations as business expenses. She pleaded guilty to one of those charges.

The plea deal brings to a close a case that has loomed over Becerra’s recently revitalized campaign for governor. It’s unclear whether it will have any effect on the crowded race, in which Becerra is one of six Democrats vying for the seat that Newsom is vacating; two Republicans also are in the running. 

The timing of the agreement is unusual. Federal prosecutors typically avoid pursuing political cases within 60 days of an election under a Justice Department custom designed to prevent interference that could advantage or disadvantage candidates. Voters have already begun turning in their ballots in the gubernatorial race. 

Scott said he tried to delay until after the primary election, out of “an abundance of caution” to conform with the Justice Department policy, but prosecutors wanted to proceed Thursday. 

“In my experience, that is something that is absolutely honored and bent over backwards to try to honor,” he said, adding that Williamson would “only be human if she felt that somehow this case was affecting” the election.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, arrives for a hearing at the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse in Sacramento on May 14, 2026. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

Lauren Horwood, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, noted that the charges have been public since November and said, saying in an email that “No candidate running for governor has been implicated in any charging document.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson told U.S. District Court Judge Troy Nunley the plea was the result of months of negotiations between prosecutors and Williamson. Williamson had previously rejected one plea offer and made a counter-offer, Anderson said, calling the agreement the “most favorable” outcome for both parties. Prosecutors will drop 20 of the 23 charges Williamson faced.

Campbell and McCluskie are scheduled to be sentenced June 4, two days after the primary election. 

Becerra was lagging in polling and fundraising until former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out over sexual assault allegations in early April, when he suddenly shot into the lead as anxious Democratic voters searched for a candidate to coalesce around. 

Williamson’s case is one of several incidents opponents have seized upon in debates and negative ads to call into question Becerra’s judgment and fitness for executive office. 

Allegations were a “gut punch”

Prosecutors have considered Becerra a victim in the case and he has not been charged with any wrongdoing. He has said he cooperated with investigators and that revelations of McCluskie’s betrayal were a “gut punch” to him akin to finding out about an unfaithful spouse. 

But some in the California capital’s often-overlapping circles of interest groups, lobbyists and political strategists have questioned how Becerra could not have known what the payments were for. 

On the campaign trail, Becerra has faced questions about whether he should have paid closer attention to his campaign account’s expenses. Strategists say $7,500 to $10,000 a month is a high price for account maintenance.

Scott added further to the speculation swirling around Becerra on Thursday, telling reporters that Williamson proceeded with the payments after McCluskie told her he had Becerra’s approval.

“We don’t have any direct knowledge of any communication or what was said” between McCluskie and Becerra, Scott said. “Mr. McCluskie represented to (Williamson) that he had talked with Mr. Becerra on multiple occasions, and everything was good to go.” 

Becerra’s campaign pointed to Williamson’s indictment, in which prosecutors stated that McCluskie misled Becerra about the purpose of the payments. Prosecutors negotiating the plea agreement did not seek information from Williamson about Becerra, Newsom or anyone else, Scott said.

“As I said from Day One, I was not involved, I did nothing wrong,” Becerra said in a statement. “And now the record confirms it. We can close the book on this.”

Scott sought to paint Williamson as a loyal friend and less culpable than McCluskie, who devised the scheme. Scott said text messages seized by the FBI showed that McCluskie “chased my client repeatedly” to discuss the idea. Williamson even offered to personally pay McCluskie the money to pad his federal salary, Scott said, but was refused. Before she joined Newsom’s office she charged Becerra’s campaign account $7,500 a month and supplemented it with $2,500 of her own money to pay McCluskie. 

“They’ve known each other for a very long time and she felt sorry for him,” Scott said. “Was it a mistake? Absolutely. But her intentions were, I think, noble, trying to help out a friend in a bad time.”

An attorney for McCluskie, Daniel Olmos, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is common practice in California for official staff members of lawmakers and other officeholders also to work on their bosses’ political campaigns, allowing them to supplement taxpayer-funded state salaries with payments from campaign accounts. Williamson herself was paid by the California Democratic Party for political work on ballot measures during the two years she was employed in the governor’s office as Newsom’s top aide. She made nearly $200,000 from the party in 2024 on top of her official duties, according to campaign finance records.

Asked by KCRA last month how voters could be assured Becerra would not let taxpayer funds be similarly “swindled,” Becerra did not answer.

Williamson was a hard-charging Sacramento lobbyist who previously ran Gov. Jerry Brown’s office. When Newsom appointed her chief of staff in 2023, her clients included criminal justice reform advocates, healthcare corporation Centene, Meta, Comcast and the video game giant Activision. 

The indictment accused Williamson of lying to investigators about whether she used her position in Newsom’s office to influence a gender equality and workplace harassment lawsuit state regulators had brought against Activision. The state later settled that case for $54 million.

Williamson pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about whether she used her position in Newsom’s office to influence a gender equality and workplace harassment lawsuit state regulators had brought against Activision. The state later settled that case for $54 million.

Scott said federal prosecutors investigating the Activision case first reached out to Williamson seeking information about Newsom, but she had none to provide. 

Newsom’s office put Williamson on leave when she informed them she was under investigation in November 2024. He has also said the charges caught him by surprise. 

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.