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Maryland GOP Finance Operative Indicted in Alleged $200,000 Embezzlement for Yacht Loan

The case exposes gaps in oversight of campaign and nonprofit money.

Maryland GOP campaign finance official James Phillip Appel faces multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
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FILE - In this April 3, 2019, photo a tip box is filled with U.S. currency in New York. During inflation, consumers can adjust their spending and saving strategies to help lessen the impact that inflation has on the value of their money. It’s important to have liquid cash set aside for emergencies, but beyond an emergency fund, there are other ways to save money and help retain its value. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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Overview

  • Appel, 58, pleaded not guilty in Baltimore after Monday's unsealing of an indictment with three wire fraud and three money laundering counts, and a judge released him with orders not to open new bank accounts, to surrender his passport, and to notify clients of the charges.
  • Prosecutors say he moved $100,000 from Del. Kathy Szeliga’s campaign and $100,000 from a county tennis group into his own accounts to refinance a 65-foot Pacific Mariner yacht.
  • The indictment says he masked the losses by filing state campaign reports that overstated cash on hand and by giving the nonprofit’s board false claims about its bank balances.
  • Appel ran GOP Compliance, served as the Maryland GOP’s comptroller since 2017, and held treasurer roles across many committees, and he has been removed from party listings as clients check their books.
  • He faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count, and ongoing FBI and court actions could freeze assets for repayment as more campaigns and the tennis organization review their accounts.