Republican consultant faces federal embezzlement charges

An Annapolis-based political consultant with ties to Republicans including former Gov. Larry Hogan is under federal indictment for allegedly embezzling from at least one of his clients as part of a scheme to finance a yacht.

James Appel faces three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering in the indictment that was unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Prosecutors, in the 10-page indictment, alleged that Appel stole money from the account of at least one elected official and one community organization with which he was associated.

Appel is accused of not only stealing money from the two accounts to finance his yacht lifestyle, but of also signing campaign finance reports misrepresenting the balances of the account. He is also accused of lying about bank balances to board members of the community group from which he allegedly stole.



https://marylandmatters.org/2026/03/31/republican-consultant-faces-federal-embezzlement-charges/