By TRAN NGUYEN AND JAIMIE DING | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -A former top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been indicted on federal charges alleging her involvement in a scheme to steal campaign money from former federal Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Dana Williamson was arrested and appeared in court Wednesday in Sacramento. She pleaded not guilty to all charges, and a judge ordered her released from custody.

Dana Williamson

The federal indictment lists four other co-conspirators. It alleges that Williamson developed a plan with Sean McCluskie, a longtime Becerra aide, to siphon money from one of Becerra's dormant state campaign accounts to give to McCluskie to pad his salary after he accepted a job as his chief of staff in Washington.

McCluskie signed a plea agreement Oct. 30 in which he admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, according to court filings. He agreed to pay back the $225,000 he took from the account.

McCluskie's attorney Daniel Olmos declined to comment.

Becerra is a former member of Congress who was appointed California attorney general in 2017 to fill a vacancy and reelected in 2018 with Williamson running his campaign. Former President Joe Biden later appointed him as secretary of Health and Human Services, and he is now running for California governor in next year's election. He is not implicated in the indictment.

"The news today of formal accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted advisor are a gut punch," Becerra said in a statement, adding that he voluntarily cooperated with the Department of Justice in its investigation and will continue doing so.

According to the indictment, she began helping McCluskie in April 2022 by using her political consulting company to bill Becerra's campaign account for purported services. The money would then be sent to McCluskie's wife for work supposedly done for Williamson.

When Williamson prepared to join Newsom's office in late 2022, she is said to have arranged for "Co-Conspirator 2" - an unnamed former public official - to take over her role in the scheme.