The campaign of Republican Secretary of State nominee Max Engling accepted a $50,000 contribution this week from a Noblesville man who pleaded guilty in 2010 to a federal bribery charge for selling law enforcement badges.

It’s the second time in three months that a large contribution to Engling’s campaign has come under scrutiny. In July, the campaign returned a $60,000 contribution from Hoosier Leadership for America after questions about how it had been classified.

A large-contribution report filed by Max for Indiana shows the campaign received $50,000 on Sept. 23 from Michael S. Sherfick of Noblesville. The report lists his occupation as construction/engineering. The same report shows two other contributions received that day: $50,000 from the Republican State Leadership Committee–Indiana and $10,000 from Brian S. Furrer of Reynolds.

Sherfick is a former Perry Township deputy constable. On April 21, 2010, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Sherfick admitted that from 2005 to 2007 he accepted more than $30,000 in bribes in exchange for deputy constable badges, identification cards and parking placards, and that he told buyers to lie to investigators and a grand jury about his involvement. He was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release and a $35,750 fine.

IndyPolitics asked the Engling campaign on Friday four things:

  • whether the contributor was the same Michael S. Sherfick;
  • whether the campaign knew of his record when it accepted the money;
  • whether it planned to keep, return or donate the contribution;
  • whether it had any other comment.

Campaign communications director Chloe Anagnos responded in an email.

“Yes, Michael Sherfick was held accountable about 16 years ago and, since then, has started a charitable foundation and supports Conservative, Christian causes in Indiana and across the country,” Anagnos wrote. “If you have questions about how he’s adjusted his life over the last two decades, I suggest reaching out to him directly.”

The campaign did not say whether it knew of Sherfick’s conviction before accepting the contribution. It also did not say whether it intends to keep the money.

IndyPolitics is reaching out to Sherfick for comment.

The earlier contribution came on June 30, when Hoosier Leadership for America, a Fort Wayne-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit, wired $60,000 to the Engling campaign. The campaign reported it as coming from an “other organization” rather than a corporation. It returned the money by wire on July 14. The campaign said at the time that its compliance vendor had flagged the donor’s entity type as unclear and recommended returning the money out of an abundance of caution, and that the refund came before any complaint was filed.

On July 24, David Shelton filed a verified complaint with the Indiana Election Commission alleging the contribution was misclassified on two campaign finance reports. The Indiana Election Division sent the complaint to the campaign on July 27.

Engling serves as his own campaign treasurer and certified the reports listing both contributions.

Sherfick drew attention in the summer of 2025, when a photo showed him with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Secretary of State Diego Morales in a suite at Gainbridge Fieldhouse during a Pacers playoff game. Beckwith said afterward that he had spoken with Sherfick only a few times and did not know about his criminal record.

Engling is scheduled to sit down with IndyPolitics on Monday.