California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ex-chief of staff arrested, accused of stealing $225K: feds
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff was arrested Wednesday and charged with plotting with accomplices to swipe $225,000 from an inactive political campaign and funnel it straight into a friend’s pocket, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Dana Williamson, 53, is now facing a sweeping 23-count federal indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, defrauding the United States, obstructing justice, filing false tax returns, and lying to authorities, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
“Today’s charges are the result of three years of relentless investigative work, in partnership with IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said in a statement.
“The FBI will remain vigilant in its efforts to uncover fraud and corruption, ensuring our government systems are held to the highest standards.”
Prosecutors said Williamson, who was Newsom’s top aide from 2022 until December 2024, plotted with registered lobbyist Greg Campbell, federal employee Sean McCluskie, and two others to siphon money from a dormant campaign account into McCluskie’s for personal use between February 2022 and September 2024.
The idle account allegedly belonged to former US Congressman Xavier Becerra, who McCluskie, also named in the indictment, had served as chief of staff for several years, the Sacramento Bee reported.
The indictment alleges that while McCluskie was Becerra’s chief of staff, Williamson funneled $10,000 per month into an account he controlled, disguised as faulty payments to his wife after her accused co-conspirator expressed a “desire to have more money” while working for the former congressman.
Prosecutors said the funds were routed through multiple business entities and falsely labeled as pay for a “no-show” job that did not exist. --->READ MORE HERE
Newsom’s Ex-Chief Of Staff Indicted For Fraud Scheme Stealing Campaign Funds With Biden Official:
Dana Williamson and others allegedly conspired to steal around $225,000 from Xavier Becerra’s dormant political campaign funds.
Democrat operative Dana Williamson, after years of leading a luxury lifestyle, now faces numerous charges of fraud and false statements related to her alleged role in stealing campaign funds and mischaracterizing more than $1 million in self-indulgent spending as business expenses.
Williamson, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, was released on $500,000 bond after pleading not guilty Wednesday to 23 charges related to her political work. She is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to interfere with government function and obstruct justice, and false statements related to alleged crimes committed between February 2022 and September 2024, according to the indictment.
Williamson exited the governor’s office in December 2024. She owns a public affairs, lobbying, and political consulting business and is well known in California political circles. Williamson, who became Newsom’s chief of staff in 2022, was “hailed by her allies as the governor’s ‘political assassin,’” according to Politico, and Newsom praised “her insight, tenacity, and big heart” when she left the position.
The case has been under investigation for more than three years, starting during the Biden administration, and implicating people in or close to the administration. Mentioned in the indictment are the following alleged co-conspirators:
Sean McCluskie, who was chief of staff to Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Biden administration from March 2021 to January 2025. Becerra was previously California’s attorney general, taking the job in 2017 after Kamala Harris left the position. McCluskie worked for him then too as chief deputy attorney general in Becerra’s office. Becerra, called “public official 1” in the indictment, is currently running for governor.
Greg Campbell is a lobbyist who owns a lobbying firm that handles public affairs, campaign issues, and crisis management.
McCluskie’s wife is not named, but she is described in the indictment as a “stay-at-home parent, who had prior work experience in the media industry.”
Williamson, McCluskie, and others allegedly conspired to divert around $225,000 from Becerra’s dormant political campaign funds, funneled it through companies she or her co-conspirators own, and disguised it as pay to McCluskie’s wife.
“Collectively, they funneled the money through various business entities and disguised it as pay for what was, in reality, a no-show job,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of California reads.
The indictment shows they started taking $10,000 a month from the account beginning in April 2022. --->READ MORE HERE
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