Tennessee Grandmother Wrongfully Imprisoned For Six Months Following Fargo Police Facial Recognition Error In Bank Fraud Case

Angela Lipps lost her home and car after a Fargo police facial recognition error led to her wrongful imprisonment for bank fraud. Read the full investigative report.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 12, 2026, 12:06 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the Jamestown Sun

Facial Recognition Software Leads To Wrongful Arrest Of Tennessee Resident

The investigation into a series of bank fraud incidents in Fargo, North Dakota, has come under intense scrutiny following the wrongful incarceration of Angela Lipps. In early 2025, Fargo detectives used facial recognition software to identify a suspect seen on surveillance video using a fraudulent military ID to withdraw large sums of money. The software flagged Lipps, a resident of north,central Tennessee. Based on this digital match and a visual comparison of her driver’s license, a Fargo detective filed eight criminal counts against her, including theft and unauthorized use of personal identity.

Extradition And Four Month Detention Without Bail

On July 14, U.S. Marshals arrested Lipps at her home in Tennessee while she was babysitting her grandchildren. Held as a fugitive from justice, she remained in a Tennessee jail for 108 days without the possibility of bail. In October, she was flown to North Dakota to face the charges. Throughout the process, Lipps maintained that she had never been to North Dakota and had never even traveled on an airplane prior to her extradition.

Bank Records Provide Irrefutable Alibi For Accused Grandmother

Lipps’ court appointed attorney in North Dakota, Jay Greenwood, eventually secured the bank records that proved her innocence. The records showed that at the exact time the fraud was occurring in Fargo, Lipps was 1,200 miles away in Tennessee making routine purchases, including Social Security check deposits, Uber Eats orders, and gas station transactions. Despite this evidence existing since the start of the case, Fargo police did not interview Lipps until December 19, five months after her initial arrest. The charges were dismissed on Christmas Eve.