{"id":376,"date":"2026-05-14T20:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=376"},"modified":"2026-05-14T20:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:00:38","slug":"former-newsom-chief-of-staff-pleads-guilty-to-scheme-that-bled-money-from-becerras-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=376","title":{"rendered":"Former Newsom Chief of Staff Pleads Guilty to Scheme That Bled Money From Becerra\u2019s Account"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s longtime chief of staff Sean McCluskie and another Sacramento lobbyist to divert $225,000 from Becerra\u2019s dormant state campaign account into McCluskie\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

As part of the plea deal, Williamson agreed to pay $225,000 in restitution to Becerra and $500,000 in restitution to the IRS. She faces up to 38 years in prison.<\/p>\n

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In a corruption scandal that shocked Sacramento, Dana Williamson was accused of conspiring with Xavier Becerra\u2019s longtime chief of staff and another Sacramento lobbyist to divert $225,000 from Becerra\u2019s dormant state campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-calmatters"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Newsom Chief of Staff Pleads Guilty to Scheme That Bled Money From Becerra\u2019s Account - Sacramento Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sacramentomovinghub.com\/?p=376\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Newsom Chief of Staff Pleads Guilty to Scheme That Bled Money From Becerra\u2019s Account - 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