A 50-year-old grandmother from Tennessee spent five months jailed after North Dakota police erroneously arrested her on bank fraud charges based on an artificial intelligence facial recognition program. Angela Lipps was extradited to Cass County, North Dakota, on October 30, 2025, following a flawed investigation that ran a fake ID image through the software and falsely identified her as a suspect.
Lipps lost her home, car, and dog during her detention. She now lives with neighbors and is pursuing legal action against the Fargo Police Department. Her charges were dismissed on Christmas Eve 2025 after an attorney secured bank records proving she was in Tennessee at the time of the alleged crimes.
Retired Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski acknowledged “mistakes” were made but refused to apologize to Lipps. He shifted responsibility to West Fargo Police Department, which he claimed purchased an artificial intelligence facial recognition program without notifying Fargo police at the executive level. Zibolski stated the software had been prohibited from law enforcement use and that he implemented additional restrictions on such technology. When questioned about his refusal to apologize, he indicated the investigation was ongoing and suggested Lipps might still be involved in fraud.
West Fargo Chief Pete Nielsen confirmed his department investigated an “unauthorized use of personal identification case” where a person of interest matched similar incidents in Fargo. Police admitted they did not submit surveillance videos to their state-run facial recognition hub as required. Emails obtained by news sources indicate Fargo police knew about Lipps’ arrest in July 2025, contradicting Zibolski’s claim that they learned of it on December 5. Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner also reported Fargo police were aware of her custody earlier than stated.
Zibolski retired as Fargo Police Chief on March 11, 2026, after 40 years in law enforcement. The incident has drawn national attention and prompted a GoFundMe campaign where Lipps has raised $76,000 to recover her lost possessions. Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney stated: “Once our department knew about her arrest, they immediately addressed it. We will continue to look at our process.”
