The daughter of the president of the Seafarers International Union has been accused of embezzling large sums of money from the union’s two political action committees, according to communications and other disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission and reviewed by NOTUS.

One of the Seafarers International Union PACs — the Political and Legislative Organization On Watch — accused Chelsea Diab of engaging in “a multi-year effort of misappropriation of Committee funds to her personal bank account and uses and filing false reports with the Commission,” according to a letter it sent to the FEC on March 20.

Then, on April 28, a related committee — the Seafarers Political Activity Donation PAC — told the FEC that it would soon amend previously filed campaign finance reports to “disclose discovered misappropriations” by Diab, who served as both committees’ treasurer.

Diab, who has also gone by Chelsea D. Heindel, is the daughter of Seafarers International Union President David Heindel, according to the letter that the Political and Legislative Organization On Watch sent to the FEC in March.

The Seafarers International Union told the FEC it came to its conclusion about Diab after initiating a review of internal committee records. Diab has recently been fired, the letter adds.

Diab did not respond to numerous calls, texts and emails requesting comment and answers to a detailed list of questions, including whether she agreed with the characterization of events laid out in the public disclosures.

On March 3, the Seafarers Political Activity Donation PAC sent the FEC a one-line letter, under Diab’s name, that reads: “Funds were sent to account my [sic] mistake, company was reimbursed and will reflect on march report.”

Diab’s LinkedIn profile indicates she worked as an executive assistant for the Seafarers International Union until November 2025. Her profile now says she is “open to work.”

LinkedIn profile for Chelsea Diab. LinkedIn

Heindel and Tom Orzechowski, the secretary-treasurer of the Seafarers International Union, did not respond to calls, texts and emails requesting comment and answers to a detailed list of questions, including exactly how much money had allegedly been misappropriated and whether any charges had been filed.

NOTUS also left messages with a receptionist at the Seafarers International Union’s office, who acknowledged NOTUS’ requests to interview Orzechowski.

It’s unclear whether law enforcement is involved with investigating the matter.

When NOTUS requested records related to the incident from the police department in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where the union is headquartered, the department denied the record request because “the person requesting the report is not listed on the report.” When NOTUS called the police department to confirm a report existed, a department official said they could not help unless NOTUS had a case number.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations declined to comment when asked if it was investigating the accusations against Diab.

In recent weeks, the Seafarers International Union has taken formal steps to recoup the money it said was misappropriatedI from its PAC operations.This includes the Seafarers Political Activity Donation PAC disclosed receiving nearly $293,000 from Chubb and Son Federal Insurance Company on March 9 for “insurance recovery” related to “embezzlements by former Treasurer,” according to a report it filed with the FEC on April 20.Heindel, the union president, gave the Political and Legislative Organization Watch PAC more than $31,000 in November for “restitution of misappropriated funds,” according to FEC records.

The records also indicate Diab gave another $3,000 to the committee in January 2025 — several months before the union told the FEC it initiated a review — for the “return of misappropriated funds.”

The Seafarers International Union describes itself as the largest union representing maritime merchants, the workers who keep commercial tankers, military support ships and other vessels afloat and running. According to the AFL-CIO, the Seafarers International Union has about 80,000 members.

Donors to the Seafarers Political Activity Donation PAC are primarily merchant seamen, according to FEC data, which show the committee had about $551,000 in cash on hand at the end of March.

The Seafarers Political Activity Donation PAC has reported spending around $585,000 so far during the 2026 election cycle, including more than $33,000 in January for Washington Nationals box seats for the 2026 season.

It’s also made various donations to party committees including $15,000 each to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee. Its recent donations to congressional committees include $5,000 to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The PAC also paid $62,500 for political strategy consulting to Isaac Lanier Avant, who lobbies for the Seafarers Political Activity Donation PAC and other unrelated clients, including the private prison contractor GEO Group.

Avant, a former congressional staffer, pleaded guilty in 2016 to “willfully failing to file an individual income tax return,” according to a Department of Justice press release. Avant did not respond to requests for comment.

The Political and Legislative Organization On Watch PAC reported around $36,500 in cash on hand at the end of March. It’s spent more than $11,200 so far this election cycle, including a “one-time balance adjustment” of around $10,350 to an unnamed recipient at the end of 2025.

At the end of February, the FEC sent a letter to the PAC noting the unauthorized use of committee funds and warning that the committee may take legal action.

But the FEC does not have enough commissioners to formalize investigations or issue penalties, so that appears unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Myles Martin, an FEC spokesperson, told NOTUS that the agency was unable to comment on potential enforcement matters. He pointed to “safe harbor” guidelines, including internal control requirements, for committees dealing with situations where their funds have been misappropriated.

The Seafarers International Union incident is the latest in a string of high-profile theft allegations against treasurers of political committees.

In March, NOTUS reported that the former treasurer of the National Venture Capital PAC pleaded guilty to charges related to embezzling more than $1 million, which he spent on luxury shopping trips and an expensive automotive club membership. The trade association PAC sent a letter to the FEC on May 4 that said the former treasurer, Jonas Murphy, had filed false reports with the agency “to disguise his theft.”

In February, Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb accused his former treasurer of “unauthorized withdrawals” from his U.S. House campaign fund, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

And Rolling Stone previously reported that Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia, as well as other Democratic political committees, had accused their treasurer of embezzling political contributions. Last summer, Katherine Buchanan, a former treasurer of several campaigns, pleaded guilty to embezzling around $840,000 from three federal candidates. She spent the money on a trip to Italy, a private suite at an Elton John concert and other personal expenses, according to The Washington Post.