Indiana woman facing felony identity deception charges after targeting county councilwoman with false child services report

Gloria Niedbalski faces felony charges after allegedly making a false report to Indiana child services targeting a local councilwoman.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 10, 2026, 7:06 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from ABC57

The Initiation of Criminal Proceedings in St. Joseph County

Legal authorities in Indiana have formally moved against a local resident accused of weaponizing state welfare systems for personal or political harassment. Gloria Niedbalski, age 45, now faces a Level Six Felony charge of Identity Deception alongside a misdemeanor count of False Informing, according to court documents filed in the St. Joseph Superior Court. The case centers on an early December incident where a caller reached out to the Indiana Department of Child Services hotline, alleging that the minor children of a public official were unsupervised and at risk.

A Calculated Impersonation Targeting a Local Official

The report to state authorities specifically targeted the household of St. Joseph County Councilwoman Amy Drake during a period when she was visibly occupied with public service duties. While Drake was physically present at a County Council meeting in New Carlisle, the hotline operator received a call from an individual claiming to be an elderly neighbor concerned about the safety of the Drake children. Subsequent police inquiries revealed that the neighbor whose identity was stolen for the call had not actually resided at that address for more than two years, signaling a deliberate attempt to hide the caller's true identity.

Digital Footprints Leading to a Family Enterprise

Law enforcement investigators utilized telecommunications tracking to pierce the veil of anonymity used during the fraudulent report. Despite the attempt to frame the call as a neighborly concern, police successfully traced the origin of the communication back to a family business associated with the defendant. Evidence indicates that the call was placed directly from a phone belonging to Niedbalski, creating a physical link between the suspect and the felony act. While the accused has reportedly denied involvement in the communication, the digital records provide a specific timeline that contradicts these claims.