Republican consultant embezzled $200K to refinance his yacht: prosecutors

A Republican strategist in Maryland has been charged with embezzling $200,000 to refinance a yacht.

According to The Baltimore Banner, James Appel, a longtime campaign finance consultant who has worked with a number of Republican candidates in Maryland, "routed $100,000 from a politician’s campaign accounts and another $100,000 from a local tennis nonprofit organization into his own accounts in 2024 in order to refinance a loan on a 65-foot Pacific Mariner yacht, according to the indictment."

Appel reportedly also filed false campaign finance reports to make it look like the money stolen from the campaign was being spent legitimately.

Prosecutors have charged Appel with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

"Neither the politician nor the tennis organization is named in court records, but Appel is listed as the treasurer and tournament director on the Anne Arundel County Tennis Association’s website," noted the report. "Appel has specialized in political campaign finance for years and had been the Maryland Republican Party’s comptroller since 2017. His responsibilities included managing accounting and human resources, as well as ensuring compliance with campaign finance laws, according to the party’s website."

A number of Republican strategists in recent years have faced explosive criminal allegations. In 2021, a Minnesota GOP strategist was arrested on charges of child trafficking.