Grandmother Arrested Due to AI Error
A 50-year-old grandmother from Tennessee, Angela Lipps, alleges that she was wrongfully arrested based on faulty facial recognition technology. The incident reportedly took place in Fargo, North Dakota, where police linked her to bank fraud charges through AI software.
Lipps recalls being arrested at gunpoint by federal marshals on July 14 while looking after her four young grandchildren at home. She stated she was unaware of the situation until she had already spent several days in jail.
“After many days in jail, I found out that Fargo police were investigating a bank fraud case involving a woman who had stolen tens of thousands of dollars using a fake military ID. They used facial recognition software to check surveillance footage, and it mistakenly identified me. A detective viewed my Tennessee driver’s license and social media, and they just agreed. No one called or questioned me. They simply obtained a warrant,” Lipps explained.
Lipps spent 108 days in a Tennessee county jail before being extradited to North Dakota in October. Upon her arrival, her attorney accessed her bank records, which demonstrated she was in Tennessee during the time of the alleged fraud. Ultimately, the charges against her were dropped on Christmas Eve after she had been imprisoned for five months.
According to the GoFundMe page set up for her, Lipps has faced significant losses due to her wrongful imprisonment, including her rental home, health insurance, Social Security income, and valuable family time.
A spokesperson for the West Fargo Police Department clarified that their involvement was related to an investigation into fraudulent use of personal information. They had requested assistance from their intelligence unit to identify a suspect through facial recognition software. The software, developed by Clearview AI, identified Lipps as possibly matching the suspect. However, they did not forward any charges to the local prosecutor due to insufficient evidence.
Lipps, who had never visited North Dakota before her arrest and knows no one in the state, expressed relief that it’s over. “I’ll never go back to North Dakota,” she stated.
This incident isn’t unique; in 2025, police in Baltimore County, Maryland, wrongly apprehended a high school student after an AI security system mistook a bag of chips for a firearm.
