Maryland GOP official charged in yacht-refinance scheme

A Maryland GOP official, James Appel, was indicted on three counts each of wire fraud and money laundering for routing $200,000 from a politician’s campaign accounts and a local tennis nonprofit into his own accounts to refinance a 65-foot yacht, while falsely inflating campaign asset balances; he pleaded not guilty as the indictment was unsealed on March 26. Appel, longtime Maryland GOP comptroller, has since left the party; Del. Kathy Szeliga described the case as a betrayal and called for jail time and asset seizure.