Woman sues after AI face match falsely IDs her as suspect

Angela Lipps on Tuesday sued Fargo, N.D., and a detective from its police department, after she said she was falsely identified as the suspect in a bank theft case, arrested, and jailed for six months. She is seeking $10 million in damages. The City of Fargo told WORLD that it does not comment on pending litigation.

Lipps’ complaint, filed in federal court, said she lived in Tennessee and had never been to North Dakota until she was arrested at gunpoint and extradited there. She argued that the detective requested a warrant for her arrest after an artificial intelligence system flagged her social media profile photo as a potential lead through facial recognition technology. The detective also knew that she did not match the physical description of the suspected thief as captured on CCTV cameras, she argued. Det. Lucas Heck allegedly failed to perform due diligence such as checking her financial and travel records to see whether she had ever traveled to North Dakota, according to court documents.

Lipps was charged with eight felonies, some of which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A court in December 2025 dropped all charges, leading to her release, after she produced bank records proving she was in Tennessee at the time of the thefts. Lipps was allegedly deprived of her medications and dentures while in jail, according to court documents. She also lost her car, home, and personal belongings due to her detainment, according to court documents.