Angela Lipps walked free on Christmas Eve 2025 after prosecutors dismissed fraud charges without prejudice a day earlier, ending more than five months in custody. She was held for a case built on facial recognition misidentification.
A 50-year-old grandmother from Elizabethton, Tennessee, Lipps was arrested in July after a software sold by facial recognition company Clearview AI linked her to a Fargo investigation, even though she had never been to the relevant state.
She was taken into custody in Tennessee while caring for her grandchildren, learning that an arrest warrant from Fargo, over 1,900 kilometers away, had been issued without her knowledge.
Police Chief Dave Zibolski acknowledged missteps. “We’re happy to acknowledge when we make errors, and we’ve made a few in this case, for sure,” he said. “There was an over-reliance on the technology, and not enough human verification was done,” he added.
While in custody, Lipps was not interrogated until December, after which the case was resolved quickly and she was released five days later. The Fargo Police Department promised procedural changes in the wake of the dismissal but did not offer a direct apology to Lipps.
A woman with similar features
Investigators began pursuing the case after a woman used false identification to carry out bank fraud worth thousands of dollars.
Authorities relied on Clearview AI to scan images tied to the investigation, flagging a woman with similar facial features as a potential suspect.
Lipps’ attorneys told CNN they had seen an email dated July 14, 2025, informing North Dakota authorities that Lipps had been arrested in Tennessee. She remained jailed in Tennessee for three months because an administrative error kept North Dakota authorities from being notified that they were withdrawing their extradition request.
First time on an airplane
Her defense team presented bank records showing Lipps was in Tennessee at the time of the alleged crimes demonstrating she could not have been the woman captured in the bank’s security footage.
“While I was in jail, I couldn’t pay my bills. I lost everything -- my house, my car, and even my dog. Now I’m trying to rebuild my life,” Lipps said.
Lipps said her transfer to North Dakota custody was the first time she had been on an airplane. When she arrived in North Dakota stepping into snowy conditions she was wearing only summer clothes.