A Tennessee grandmother who spent nearly six months behind bars after AI-powered facial recognition linked her to a North Dakota bank fraud investigation is now suing the City of Fargo and the former detective who pursued the case.
Angela Lipps, 50, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday, 15 September, seeking $10 million in damages after charges against her were dismissed in December 2025. Lipps says she had never been to North Dakota before her arrest and that her lawyers later produced bank records they say placed her in Tennessee when the alleged thefts took place.
The lawsuit accuses former Fargo Police detective Lucas Heck of relying on a facial recognition lead without doing enough to verify whether Lipps was actually the woman involved in the fraud. It also alleges the city failed to have adequate policies, training or supervision governing officers' use of facial recognition technology at the time.
AI Match Led Police to a Tennessee Grandmother
The case began with a string of bank fraud incidents in the Fargo area in spring 2025 involving fake identification. Police in neighbouring West Fargo used facial recognition technology on an image connected to a fake ID, producing Lipps as a potential match, according to statements later made by law enforcement.
Fargo detectives received that information and moved forward with their own investigation. Then-Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski said detectives had wrongly assumed bank surveillance photographs had also been submitted for facial recognition analysis when they had not.
Watch below: Lipps' case drew renewed attention after she filed a $10 million lawsuit over the arrest and months she spent behind bars.
Angela Lipps, a Tennessee Grandmother who claims she was arrested and held for nearly six months in Fargo due to a facial recognition error, is now suing the city for $10M pic.twitter.com/4tM3EgQYfw
— Devin Fry (@DevinFry63) September 15, 2026
Acknowledging investigative mistakes in March, Zibolski said: 'We're happy to acknowledge when we make errors, and we've made a few in this case for sure.' Lipps was arrested at gunpoint in Tennessee on 14 July 2025 by a US Marshals fugitive task force executing the North Dakota warrant.
She remained in custody while fighting extradition before being transferred to Cass County, where she faced eight felony counts tied to theft and the unauthorised use of personal identifying information.
Bank Records Put Her More Than 1,000 Miles Away
Lipps' lawsuit says investigators had no financial transactions, travel records or witness identifications tying her to the Fargo crimes. Her defence later produced bank records that placed her in Tennessee during the period when the thefts happened, more than 1,000 miles from Fargo.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice in December, meaning prosecutors could potentially bring them again if sufficient new evidence emerged, and Lipps was released shortly before Christmas. Her lawyers say she was left in North Dakota without a practical way home and that the months in custody cost her her home, car and personal belongings.
Lipps has described the financial fallout in stark terms, saying she lost her rental home, car, Social Security income, doctors, dog and much of what she owned while she was jailed.
See below: Lipps described losing her home, car, income and belongings during the months she spent in custody.
Mannn the Angela lipps story was crazyy.
— IT Guy (@T3chFalcon) August 7, 2026
She spent nearly six months in jail because an AI matched her face to a blurry bank surveillance photo.😭
Her name is Angela Lipps. 50 years old. had never been to North Dakota. had never been on a plane. had barely left a 100-mile… https://t.co/oiDbl7vhMo pic.twitter.com/KshLx1FhWl
Lawsuit Targets Police Use of Facial Recognition
The complaint brings five claims, including unlawful seizure and arrest under the Fourth Amendment, due process violations under the Fourteenth Amendment, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution and a civil rights claim against the city over its policies and training. Lipps is seeking $10 million in damages, punitive damages against Heck, legal fees and a jury trial.
Lipps also alleges she was denied medications and access to her dentures while jailed and continues to experience lasting emotional distress following the arrest. Those allegations have not yet been tested in court.
Fargo later tightened its facial recognition rules, including requiring supervisory review and limiting searches to approved state or federal entities. The City of Fargo has declined to comment on the pending lawsuit. As of Wednesday, 16 September, the city had not filed a formal response to Lipps' complaint.
