MIAMI — The federal authorities in Puerto Rico unveiled a sprawling corruption investigation into high levels of the island’s government on Wednesday, announcing arrests and criminal charges against six people, including two former agency directors.

The Justice Department accused Julia Keleher, the former education secretary, and Ángela Ávila Marrero, the former executive director of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, of unlawfully steering about $15.5 million in federal contracts to politically connected consultants.

The others arrested were Glenda E. Ponce-Mendoza and Mayra Ponce-Mendoza, two sisters who worked as education contractors; Fernando Scherrer Caillet, an executive at the B.D.O. accounting firm; and Alberto Velázquez Piñol, a consultant. The two businessmen face charges of money laundering, among the most serious accusations laid out in the 32-count indictment.

Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez, the United States attorney for Puerto Rico, said the men used their political influence to improperly obtain contracts, and then used that money for illegal lobbying.