Goshen school board candidate sentenced for election fraud

GOSHEN, Ind. (WNDU) - The final candidate charged with election fraud during the 2022 Goshen Community Schools Board of Trustees election has been sentenced and can no longer run for public office.

According to our reporting partners at the Goshen News, Andrea Johnson was sentenced to 18 months probation for filing a fraudulent report and 180 days probation for accepting an illegal campaign contribution.

A jury found Johnson guilty in December. As a result of the conviction, Johnson can no longer run for public office.

Johnson was charged alongside three other candidates — Roger Nafziger, Jose Elizalde and Mario Garber — and former Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman. The group was accused of falsifying campaign finance reports related to a mailer sent out in October 2022.

Prosecutors said funds for the mailer were funneled through Kauffman, who was called the “ringleader” by the judge.

Johnson was the only one of the accused to take her case to trial. Nafziger, Elizalde and Garber each pleaded guilty to the felony charge but were sentenced as a misdemeanor per their plea agreements. Kauffman, who pleaded guilty, did not receive the misdemeanor treatment.