HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM BY BECOMING A SUBSCRIBING MEMBER. YOU CAN ALSO MAKE A ONE TIME DONATION HERE.
GOSHEN, Ind. — REAL News Michiana has learned Goshen School Board Member Jose Elizalde has filed a plea agreement to a felony election crime charge. In the documents, Elizalde has agreed to plea guilty to one Felony county of Filing Fraudulent Report in exchange for no jail time and the dismissal of a Misdemeanor Reckless Contribution to Campaign charge.
According to the plea agreement, Elizalde would face a year of probation, one weekend of Community Oriented Work Program and court costs.
The agreement was filed in Elkhart Superior Court late last week. The judge has yet to approve it. The documents can be viewed below.
Elizalde and four others, including the former Mayor and several other Goshen School Board Members are facing multiple criminal charges, including felonies, in an election fraud scheme from the 2022 school board campaign. All of them were charged with the crimes in February of this year. Elizalde is the first to file a plea agreement.
THE CRIMES
The criminal charges came 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 former Goshen Mayor and school board member, Allan Kauffman, is facing one felony charge for Filing Fraudulent Report and five misdemeanor charges for Accepting a Contribution Made in Another’s Name. Kauffman resigned from the school board shortly after the charges were filed.
Elizalde along with school board members Mario Garber and Roger Nafziger all face a felony for Filing Fraudulent Report and one misdemeanor for Accepting a Contribution Made in Another’s Name. Failed school board candidate Andrea Johnson is facing the same charges.
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.
Want to keep seeing the news the legacy media just won’t report? REAL News Michiana relies on member subscribers to keep going. As a subscriber, you’ll get an RNM mug and invites to special events. Help us continue to expose corruption and report on the news conservatives care about by subscribing here.
Time for all of them to step down from the school board.