FARGO, ND - A grandmother from Tennessee claims that she was arrested in July 2025 and incarcerated for five months after police used facial recognition software and mistakenly identified her as a suspect in a bank fraud case in a in North Dakota.
The woman, 50-year-old Angela Lipps, said she was arrested at her home in Tennessee by a team of U.S. Marshals in July 2025 and booked into county jail as a fugitive from justice from North Dakota, PEOPLE reported.
"I've never been to North Dakota, I don't know anyone from North Dakota," Lipps said to WDAY News. When recalling her arrest she said, "It was so scary. I can still see it in my head, over and over again."
She said that after she was detained, she learned that she had been arrested on charges that included four counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and four counts of theft in North Dakota. Police in Fargo, North Dakota, had been investigating a string of bank fraud cases between April and May 2025 involving a suspect who used a fake U.S. Army military I.D. card to withdraw thousands of dollars.
Police used facial recognition software on surveillance videos captured of the suspect to identify her, and Lipps was flagged by the AI software.
A Fargo detective who had been working on the case then looked at the 50-year-old's social media account and driver's license, before determining that she appeared to be the suspect involved in the case based on her facial features, body type and hair.
Lipps sat in the county jail in Tennessee for four months without bail and was unable to plead her case until she could be extradited to North Dakota. Once in North Dakota, she finally retained a lawyer and was interviewed by police for the first time on December 19, 2025.
Lipps' attorney, Jay Greenwood, reportedly asked her for her bank records, which provided proof that she had been in Tennessee at the same time that the crimes were being committed in North Dakota.
"Around the same time she's depositing Social Security checks ... she is buying cigarettes at a gas station, around the same time, she is buying a pizza, she is using a cash app to buy an Uber Eats," Greenwood said.
In another statement, he said, "The investigation and arrest of Angela relied solely on facial recognition. The Fargo Police Department did not contact Angela Lipps until I provided them with her bank records and arranged an interview with her."
Five days after she was interviewed by Fargo police, Lipps said she was dismissed and released from jail in North Dakota. However, the grandmother said she was given no expenses from the police to help her return home and relied on funds from defense attorneys to get a hotel and eventually find transportation back to Tennessee.
"I'm just glad it's over. I'll never go back to North Dakota," she said.
Following the whole ordeal, Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski said, "The issuance of an arrest warrant for Ms. Lipps indicates that a court determined probable cause existed for the charges. While the charges were later dismissed without prejudice, that procedural step simply means the charges may be re-filed if additional investigation supports doing so. The Fargo Police Department continues to actively investigate this matter and continues to follow the criminal justice process."
"The investigation remains ongoing with respect to all individuals involved. Because the case is still open and active, I am not providing additional comment at this time to avoid compromising the investigation," he added.
The woman, 50-year-old Angela Lipps, said she was arrested at her home in Tennessee by a team of U.S. Marshals in July 2025 and booked into county jail as a fugitive from justice from North Dakota, PEOPLE reported.
"I've never been to North Dakota, I don't know anyone from North Dakota," Lipps said to WDAY News. When recalling her arrest she said, "It was so scary. I can still see it in my head, over and over again."
She said that after she was detained, she learned that she had been arrested on charges that included four counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and four counts of theft in North Dakota. Police in Fargo, North Dakota, had been investigating a string of bank fraud cases between April and May 2025 involving a suspect who used a fake U.S. Army military I.D. card to withdraw thousands of dollars.
Police used facial recognition software on surveillance videos captured of the suspect to identify her, and Lipps was flagged by the AI software.
A Fargo detective who had been working on the case then looked at the 50-year-old's social media account and driver's license, before determining that she appeared to be the suspect involved in the case based on her facial features, body type and hair.
Lipps sat in the county jail in Tennessee for four months without bail and was unable to plead her case until she could be extradited to North Dakota. Once in North Dakota, she finally retained a lawyer and was interviewed by police for the first time on December 19, 2025.
Lipps' attorney, Jay Greenwood, reportedly asked her for her bank records, which provided proof that she had been in Tennessee at the same time that the crimes were being committed in North Dakota.
"Around the same time she's depositing Social Security checks ... she is buying cigarettes at a gas station, around the same time, she is buying a pizza, she is using a cash app to buy an Uber Eats," Greenwood said.
In another statement, he said, "The investigation and arrest of Angela relied solely on facial recognition. The Fargo Police Department did not contact Angela Lipps until I provided them with her bank records and arranged an interview with her."
Five days after she was interviewed by Fargo police, Lipps said she was dismissed and released from jail in North Dakota. However, the grandmother said she was given no expenses from the police to help her return home and relied on funds from defense attorneys to get a hotel and eventually find transportation back to Tennessee.
"I'm just glad it's over. I'll never go back to North Dakota," she said.
Following the whole ordeal, Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski said, "The issuance of an arrest warrant for Ms. Lipps indicates that a court determined probable cause existed for the charges. While the charges were later dismissed without prejudice, that procedural step simply means the charges may be re-filed if additional investigation supports doing so. The Fargo Police Department continues to actively investigate this matter and continues to follow the criminal justice process."
"The investigation remains ongoing with respect to all individuals involved. Because the case is still open and active, I am not providing additional comment at this time to avoid compromising the investigation," he added.
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