MD GOP official indicted on wire fraud, money laundering charges

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A former Maryland Republican Party official who is listed as the treasurer for dozens of campaign committees was charged with wire fraud and money laundering, according to court filings unsealed Monday.

James Appel, head of Annapolis‑based advisory firm GOP Compliance, pleaded not guilty Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Appel did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did his attorney, Steven Wrobel.

Unsealed by Magistrate Judge Erin Aslan, the indictment charges Appel with three counts each of wire fraud and money laundering. It says Appel defrauded both an unnamed politician and a community tennis organization in Anne Arundel County. 

Appel is listed on the Anne Arundel County Tennis Association’s website as the organization’s treasurer and tournament director. State campaign finance records list him as treasurer for more than 40 committees and candidates including state Del. Kathy Szeliga, R-Baltimore County, who said in a statement this month that “a professional treasurer, and someone I considered a fiduciary, may have violated our trust,” calling it “both heartbreaking and infuriating.” She did not name Appel.

The Baltimore County Republican’s statement came after reports that Appel had been questioned by the FBI over a discrepancy in Szeliga’s campaign account. Szeliga did not return a request for comment Monday.

The indictment alleges that Appel transferred $100,000 each from the tennis association’s account and from a campaign account associated with “Politician 1” to his personal bank account, using his GOP Compliance account as an intermediary. He used the bank statements for a refinancing loan on a Pacific Mariner 65 Motoryacht, according to the indictment.

Appel also served for years as the Maryland Republican Party’s comptroller, though it was unclear when he left that role. The state Republican Party’s chair, Nicole Beus Harris, said in a statement on Monday that “Mr. Appel is no longer a contractor for MDGOP.”

A since-deleted biography on the state Republican Party’s website said that Appel served as comptroller under former Executive Director Adam Wood, who stepped down in December and is now running for state senate in District 42.

Wood, who also lists Appel as his campaign’s treasurer, also did not return a request for comment.

The same day that Appel is accused of transferring $100,000 from the tennis association’s bank account to the GOP Compliance bank account, and from that bank account to his own bank account, Appel wrote an email to a Rhode Island bank about refinancing a loan for his yacht, according to the indictment. He said that his account statements would reflect balances of “70k and 100k.”

Appel later filed “false and fraudulent” campaign finance reports that inflated “Politician 1’s” bank balances throughout 2025, according to the indictment. And this year, he misrepresented the assets of the tennis association to its board members, the indictment says. The tennis association’s president did not immediately return a request for comment.

A biography for Appel from his 2017 Annapolis City Council run says  he had been appointed by then-Gov. Larry Hogan to serve as executive financial officer for the Maryland Department of Information Technology under the Republican’s administration.  It says he was a member of the Eastport Yacht Club and the U.S. Sailing Team.

He also owned a Roly Poly sandwich shop in Annapolis, according to the biography.

Appel also worked as vice president of Ax Capital Compliance, a campaign consulting firm that advises Republican clients. That firm’s president, Rob Phillips, did not return a request for comment Monday.

This story has been updated.