Sentencing date set for former Newsom, Becerra aide Dana Williamson
Dana Williamson, a former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom, will be sentenced in September after she pled guilty in May to bank fraud, filing a false tax return and lying to the FBI. Williamson’s sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 17 at the Robert T. Matsui federal courthouse in downtown Sacramento, according to court records. A hearing to set a date for her sentencing was scheduled for Thursday, but has been continued after prosecutors and the defense reached an agreement.
Williamson, who served as Newsom’s chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, is facing up to 38 years in prison and fines of up to $1.35 million for her role in a corruption scheme to siphon $225,000 in campaign funds from former Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
In May, Williamson admitted in court that she had helped Sean McCluskie, Becerra’s former chief of staff, funnel the money to his bank account to pad his salary after McCluskie took a pay cut to follow Becerra to Washington, D.C., after Becerra joined the Biden administration.
Last November, she was arrested by the FBI and charged along with McCluskie and lobbyist Greg Campbell. Campbell admitted to falsifying business contracts to help Williamson respond to a subpoena about a COVID-19 loan she had obtained for her consulting business.
Both Campbell and McCluskie are awaiting sentencing for their roles in the scheme, which shook Sacramento and D.C. after the FBI wiretapped dozens of lobbyists during its investigation. A fourth conspirator, consultant Alexis Podesta, agreed to cooperate with federal authorities and was not indicted, according to her attorney Bill Portanova.
Before joining Newsom’s office, Williamson had served as an adviser to former Gov. Jerry Brown and Becerra, managing his campaign accounts, and worked as a lobbyist for PG&E.
