A failure in a facial recognition system with artificial intelligence (IA) caused the unjustified arrest of Angela Lipps, a 50-year-old woman who spent five months in prison in the United States accused of bank fraud In a state I had never been in.
The woman She was detained in July 2025 by agents of the US Marshals Service at his home in Tennesseeaccused of being a fugitive from justice in North Dakota. The AI ββsoftware analyzed images from surveillance cameras in Fargoa city where an unknown woman used a fake US Army military ID to withdraw thousands of dollars from different banks between April and May of that year.
AI identified woman as a bank fraud suspect due to similarity to another person
The technology used was Clearview AIused by West Fargo police, which scans billions of images on the Internet and flagged Lipps as a suspect because of similarities to a photo linked to the fraudulent activity. Fargo detectives adopted that information without question.
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An officer reviewed their social media, determined there was enough similarity, and obtained an arrest warrant. However, bank records showed that Lipps was in Tennessee when the crimes occurred.
Lipps He spent 108 days in jail of Tennessee before she was transferred to North Dakota on October 30. There, Fargo police claimed not to have known of his presence until December 5. They interrogated her December 19 and released days later, on the eve of Christmas.
During his time in prison he lost his house, his car and his pet. Without resources to return to his state, he received support from lawyers and the organization F5 Project, that helped him return to Tennessee. He currently lives in a mobile home with the help of neighbors and has gathered about 70 thousand dollars in an online collection.
Although the events occurred in 2025, the case was widely known in March 2026 when the American media took up the story after the error was confirmed and the personal consequences for Lipps became evident.
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His legal team is now exploring possible lawsuits for civil rights violations. Fargo police acknowledged mistakes in the investigative process but did not issue a direct apology.
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