A woman was detained for about six months on false charges due to a false positive by facial recognition AI, losing her home, car, and beloved dog.
A terrifying case has been reported in which a 50-year-old woman living in
AI error jails innocent grandmother for months in North Dakota fraud case - Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, East Grand Forks news, weather & sports
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/north-dakota/ai-error-jails-innocent-grandmother-for-months-in-north-dakota-fraud-case
Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraud | Tennessee | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/tennessee-grandmother-ai-fraud
Angela Lipps, 50 years old at the time of writing, has three adult children and five grandchildren, and has spent almost her entire life in north-central Tennessee. When she travels, it is limited to neighboring states, and she had never even been on an airplane.
However, in the summer of 2025, police in Fargo , North Dakota , who were investigating an organized bank fraud case, identified Lipps as the ringleader based on facial recognition software. On July 14, a team of federal marshals visited Lipps' home and arrested her at gunpoint while she was babysitting his four young children.
Lipps was detained without bail in a Tennessee county jail as a fugitive from North Dakota. Speaking to North Dakota local media outlet WDAY News, Lipps said, 'It was terrifying. I still see the scene over and over again in my mind. I've never been to North Dakota, and I don't know anyone from North Dakota.'
According to police documents obtained by WDAY News through a public record request, Fargo police were analyzing surveillance camera footage while investigating multiple bank fraud cases. The footage showed a woman withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars using a forged U.S. military ID card, and facial recognition software identified the woman as Ms. Lips. Below is an image extracted from the surveillance camera footage.
Below is an image of Mr. Lipps giving an interview to WDAY News.
According to court documents, the Fargo police detective in charge of the case reportedly decided to arrest Lips after reviewing his social media accounts and a photo of his Tennessee driver's license. In the indictment, the police noted that Lips was highly likely to be the perpetrator based on his facial features, build, hairstyle, and skin color, but Lips testified that he had never received a phone call from the Fargo police for questioning.
Ultimately, Lips was detained in a Tennessee county jail for nearly four months, during which time Fargo police indicted him on charges of misuse and theft of personally identifiable information. 108 days after his arrest, on October 30, Lips was transferred from Tennessee to North Dakota, and the following day he appeared in court and denied the charges.
Jay Greenwood, the attorney representing Lips, obtained and submitted Lips' bank account records to investigators. These records reportedly showed that Lips was at her home in Tennessee, more than 1,900 km away, during the time the alleged fraud was taking place in North Dakota. Greenwood stated, 'Almost simultaneously with depositing social security checks, she was buying cigarettes at a gas station, almost simultaneously buying a pizza, and using a cash app to pay for an Uber Eats order.'
Then, on December 19, Fargo police met with Lips and Greenwood and conducted their first questioning of Lips. Just five days later, on December 24, Lips was released without indictment. However, Lips was released wearing the same summer clothes he was wearing when he was arrested, and Fargo police did not even cover the cost of his return to Tennessee.
Ultimately, Lipps returned to Tennessee with the help of local lawyers and support groups, but lost his home, car, and even his beloved dog because he was unable to make payments while in custody. Lipps told WDAyNews that not a single person from the Fargo Police Department has come to apologize.
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