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GOSHEN, Ind. — Goshen School Board Member Jose Elizalde, who was recently charged with multiple election crimes, took to Facebook in an apparent attempt to call the charges “racist”. Elizalde and four others are facing multiple criminal charges, including felonies, in an election fraud scheme from the 2022 school board campaign.
“In my years of working in the community, I have learned that: No matter the evidence, people believe what they wish. 2. Louder voices are often wrong. 3. Demonizing those who disagree with them is the current norm. 4. HATE, racism, prejudice is EVIL not matter how much people with to justify it with religious language… The amount of love and well wishes is overwhelming. I feel your love. Please know that I’m at peace, and that I appreciate you very much.” Elizalde wrote to facebook.
Four other people are also facing criminal charges for their roles in the election crime scandal, including three other board members — Roger Nafziger, Allan Kauffman and Mario Garber. Kauffman resigned from the board earlier this week.
Andrea Johnson, who unsuccessfully ran for a school board position in 2022, is also facing charges. Everyone except for Kauffman has been arrested and processed at the Elkhart County Jail.
THE CRIMES
The criminal charges come more than a year after a REAL News Michiana investigation highlighted several election crimes committed by multiple members of the Goshen School Board. All of the suspects are Democrats who viciously attacked their conservative opponents, and appeared to use illegal tactics in the process.
According to charging documents, Kauffman is facing one felony charge for Filing Fraudulent Report and five misdemeanor charges for Accepting a Contribution Made in Another’s Name.
Jose Elizalde, Mario Garber, Roger Nafziger, Andrea Johnson all also face a felony for Filing Fraudulent Report and one misdemeanor for Accepting a Contribution Made in Another’s Name.
The court documents giving a narrative of the events and the charges can be seen below.
In December of 2022, REAL News Michiana outlined the complaint and beginning of the investigation into Kauffman and others. The story was ignored by all of the legacy outlets.
The issue revolves around essentially a money laundering scheme in which Kauffman was given money raised by a third party for a campaign from several donors. Kauffman then made a lump sum donation in his name to multiple school board candidates he was supporting, making it appear as if it were a private, personal donation made only by him. The alleged reason for the actions was to hide the names of the people making the donations.
According to Indiana election law, a third party that raises money in this fashion must be registered as a Political Action Committee (PAC). The PAC must file public reports with the names of donors that include the amounts of their donations. Making donations in the name of another person is a crime.
Indiana Code 3-14-1-11 states the following:
Sec. 11. A person who:
(1) recklessly makes a contribution in the name of another person; or
(2) knowingly accepts a contribution made by one person in the name of another
person; commits a Class B misdemeanor.
RNM discovered a complaint had been filed with the Elkhart County Election Board shortly after the 2022 Election. Included in the complaint are social media posts made by Kauffman admitting to the scheme. In one post Kauffman says, “The donations were combined and given to me to apportion to the candidates…”
Also included in the complaint is a Facebook message sent from school board candidate Mario Garber in which he confirms the potential campaign finance crimes.
“My understanding is that a large number of retired teachers and others donated to the cause. Someone collected the donations and gave them to Allan (Kauffman) and he distributed among the candidates.” Garber wrote.
According to campaign finance forms filed with the Elkhart County Clerk’s Office, Kauffman made two large donations to school board candidate Roger Nafziger’s campaign totalling nearly $6,000.
According to the original complaint, Kauffman was accused of making similar donations to other school board candidates as well. At the time, those campaign finance documents were not immediately available for RNM to review. However, the recent charging documents confirm those donations were made.
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Yeah, Jose… go ahead with all that. Realize, however, that facts are stubborn things. You can’t make them go away by pretending they don’t exist.