A former Chief of Staff to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom continued receiving taxpayer-funded payouts despite being on leave for an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption.
Dana Williamson, who served as the governor’s chief of staff from 2023 to 2024, received a total payout of over $62,000 in 2025, including $30,000 for unused vacation time she used to remain on payroll and an additional $22,000 for remaining time off, according to the LA Times. The payments to Williamson were made under a California policy that allows employees to cash out unused vacation time when leaving their job.
Williamson was placed on leave in December 2024 and was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in November 2025 on 23 federal counts related to fraud, conspiracy, and tax crimes after allegedly conspiring to divert approximately $225,000 in campaign funds between 2022 and 2024, according to the Eastern District of California. Investigators were able to record a high-level meeting with Williamson and two co-conspirators that took place in 2024, the Associated Press reported.
California has a fund that pays out unused vacation time, which remains unfunded and owes workers $5.6 billion, according to the Times. This is all amid the estimated $17.7 billion budget shortfall, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
A spokesperson from Newsom’s office defended the payment in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, adding, “unlike Donald Trump, we don’t pick and choose which laws to follow.”
The Republican Party of California did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Federal prosecutors also charged Democratic California lobbyist Greg Campbell and Democratic California Deputy Attorney General Sean McCluskie with Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud under the same indictment. Campbell also faced a count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Campbell and McCluskie pleaded guilty to the charges shortly after the indictment was unsealed.
Williamson is also accused of falsifying COVID Paycheck Protection Program loans and filing fraudulent tax forms claiming more than $1 million in business deductions and using them on personal purchases and vacations, according to AP. Newsom has not been accused of wrongdoing in any of the complaints or indictments.
The former chief of staff has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting her next court date, which is expected in April.
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