Dana Williamson, who previously served as a senior adviser to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, was arrested and arraigned Wednesday in Sacramento. She was indicted on federal charges of participating in a scheme to embezzle campaign funds from former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, according to the AP.
According to the federal indictment, four other individuals are named as co-conspirators. They allege Dana Williamson participated in a scheme with Sean McCluski, who served as Xavier Becerra’s chief of staff during the alleged wrongdoing. The indictment alleges that Williamson and McCluskie devised a scheme to divert funds from Becerra’s inactive campaign account and funnel roughly $225,000 to McCluskie over more than two years.
Who is Dana Williamson?
Dana Williamson, a veteran Democratic strategist in Sacramento, previously served as a cabinet secretary under former Gov. Jerry Brown before starting her own political consulting firm. She also managed Xavier Becerra’s 2018 campaign for attorney general and later returned to public service as chief of staff to Governor Gavin Newsom.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Williamson was charged with 23 counts, including conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of justice, filing false tax returns and making false statements. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
(This is a developing story. More to come)
