A Tennessee grandmother is speaking out after spending nearly six months behind bars for a North Dakota bank fraud spree she did not commit, allegedly the victim of a police investigation that relied on an inaccurate facial recognition match.
Angela Lipps, 50, was arrested by U.S. Marshals at her Tennessee home in July 2025. Authorities booked her as a fugitive from justice based on a warrant out of Fargo, North Dakota, charging her with four counts of unauthorized use of personal information and four counts of theft.
“I’ve never been to North Dakota, I don’t know anyone from North Dakota,” Lipps told WDAY News, describing the trauma of her arrest as a recurring nightmare.
The Fargo Police Department’s investigation centered on a series of bank frauds committed in April and May 2025. A suspect reportedly used a fraudulent U.S. Army military I.D. to withdraw thousands of dollars from local branches.
To identify the suspect, detectives utilized facial recognition software on bank surveillance footage. The AI flagged Lipps as a potential match. According to court documents, a Fargo detective then reviewed Lipps’ social media accounts and driver’s license, concluding her facial features, hair, and body type matched the individual in the video.
Lipps spent four months in a Tennessee county jail without bail, unable to contest the charges until her extradition to North Dakota. Once in Fargo, her attorney, Jay Greenwood, secured her release by presenting basic financial records.
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Greenwood provided evidence that Lipps was in Tennessee during the crimes, using her bank card for Social Security deposits, gas station purchases, and Uber Eats orders.
“The investigation and arrest of Angela relied solely on facial recognition,” Greenwood said in a statement. “The Fargo Police Department did not contact Angela Lipps until I provided them her bank records.”
Authorities released Lipps on Dec. 24, five days after her first police interview. However, she was provided no financial assistance to return to Tennessee, eventually relying on funds from her defense team to secure a hotel and transportation home.
Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski defended the department’s protocol, noting that a court had determined “probable cause” existed for the warrant. While the charges were dismissed without prejudice—meaning they could be re-filed—Zibolski stated the investigation remains “open and active.”
Lipps’ case highlights a growing national concern among civil liberties advocates regarding the reliability of biometric surveillance. Critics argue that “confirmation bias” often leads law enforcement to trust AI matches without sufficient corroborating evidence, leading to catastrophic legal errors for innocent citizens.
