The story of a woman who spent six months in prison because of an AI error. Threatened at gunpoint while watching over her grandchildren: 'I still see it all over and over in my mind'
A Tennessee woman told how her life was turned upside down and she ended up spending six months behind bars because of an error in an AI application.
Angela Lipps was arrested because of a bug in an AI application. PHOTO: Fargo Police
Angela Lipps, a 50-year-old American woman from Tennessee, was detained on July 14, 2025, while she was caring for four of her five grandchildren. Several US federal officers descended on her home, holding her at gunpoint, and she was later transported more than 1,200 miles away to Fargo, North Dakota, where she was charged with involvement in an organized bank fraud scheme, reports The Independent.
The woman confesses that the incident had devastating consequences, her life being completely turned upside down: “It was so scary. I still replay it in my mind over and over again”.
Where did the confusion start?
The investigation in Fargo, North Dakota, began in the spring of 2025 after several local banks reported multiple frauds and surveillance cameras captured a woman using a fake military ID to withdraw large amounts of money.
The images were analyzed by facial recognition software, which wrongly identified the suspect as Angela Lipps, and a detective later compared social media photos and her driver's license to camera footage, reinforcing the AI app's error.
Despite claiming she had never been to North Dakota, Angela Lipps was held without bail for four months in Tennessee pending extradition proceedings. She was informed that she was charged with four counts of unauthorized use of personally identifiable information and four counts of theft.
On October 30, 2025, she was transferred to Fargo, where she made her first court appearance on October 31. Her attorney, Jay Greenwood, presented financial evidence that showed the woman was innocent and that, at the time someone was committing the fraud in North Dakota, Angela Lipps was in Tennessee.
“At the same time someone was withdrawing money from banks in North Dakota, she was depositing her Social Security checks, buying cigarettes at a gas station or pizza, or using a payment app to order Uber Eats.” explained the lawyer of the unjustly accused woman.
On December 19, 2025, Fargo police finally interviewed her in the Cass County Jail, and five days later, on Christmas Eve, authorities dropped the charges and Angela Lipps was released.
The woman couldn't enjoy the moment too much, as she was stuck in Fargo in the dead of winter with no thick clothes or resources, having to get help from lawyers and local organizations to get back home to Tennessee.
“I was wearing summer clothes, not even a jacket. It was so cold outside, the snow was everywhere, I was scared. I just wanted to leave, but I didn't know what to do or how to get home.” Angela Lipps said.
“I'm just glad it's over. I'm never going back to North Dakota,” she added, noting that no Fargo police representative has apologized to her for the error.
His case is the eighth documented in the United States where errors in facial recognition software led to wrongful arrests.
