School board members arrested for finance fraud in campaign against conservative, pro-parent candidates

Arrest warrants were issued for several Indiana school board members this week amid allegations of campaign finance fraud in 2022, when they faced a group of pro-parent candidates in a school board election.

The Elkhart County Prosecutor authorized warrants for Allen Kauffman, Jose Elizalde, Mario Garber, Roger Nafziger and Andrea Johnson, according to Goshen News.

The accusations stem from the 2022 Goshen School Board election, during which Kaufman, Elizalde, Garber and Nafziger won positions on the board. Johnson ran for a seat on the board but was not elected. 

According to court documents, each one is being charged with a Level 6 felony count of filing a fraudulent report and a Class B misdemeanor of accepting a contribution made in another’s name.  

In addition, Kauffman is being charged with four Class B misdemeanor charges of accepting a contribution made in another’s name. 

Elizalde, Garber and Johnson were arrested and processed at the Elkhart County Jail on Wednesday, with bail set at $2,500, Goshen News reported. 

The allegedly illegal contributions were used to pay for mailers against three Republican candidates during the 2022 school board election. The three candidates were part of Purple for Parents, a conservative advocacy group opposed to Critical Race Theory and Social Emotional Learning in public schools.

In an effort to defeat the group, retired schoolteacher Sue Neeb approached Kauffman, who offered to send out mailers if she secured the funds, the same report says. 

Neeb collected funds from 32 individuals, some exceeding $1,000, which were then distributed among the campaigns of Elizalde, Garber, Nafziger and Johnson.  

When the mailers went out, Kauffman was the only name listed as a donor on the campaign finance forms. 

According to the Campaign Finance Manual, any person who donates more than $100 towards a campaign should be listed on finance forms. 

After months of deliberation and evidence gathering, the Election Board issued civil penalties for the 32 individuals known to be involved in the campaign finance fraud.  

For each donor who gave less than $1,000, a fine of $150 was issued. Those who donated over $1,000 were fined $250. 

The newspaper reports Need was also fined $2,000 but wasn’t charged with crimes for her participation in the alleged fraud.