Shocking AI mistake: Tennessee woman falsely arrested by facial recognition

A Tennessee grandmother was sent to jail for a crime she never committed in her life because of the error made by AI facial recognition.

In a tragic incident, 50-year-old Angela Lipps, was wrongly identified as a perpetrator who committed bank fraud in North Dakota, a state she had never even been to.

Later in July 2025, the police arrested Lippa at her home in Tennessee. Lipps, however, insisted she had never even visited North Dakota.

Despite this, she was held in jail for months before being extradited across the country to face charges at the end of October.

Lipps explained that her move to North Dakota was her very first time flying on a plane. She also made it clear that she never plans to return to that state again.

By the time she arrived, she felt scared and ashamed. However, her ordeal wasn't over yet.

Once she landed in Fargo, she was given a lawyer. This lawyer found bank records showing that Lipps was actually in Tennessee when the crimes took place, proving she wasn't involved in the fraud.

As reported by CNN, the West Fargo Police Department deployed “facial recognition technology” that flagged Lippa as a potential suspect, prompting the law enforcement authorities to take further actions to detain the suspect without verifying the facts.

Even during her time in custody, Lipps faced multiple charges including theft and misuse of personal information.

The recent incident shed a horrifying light on the non-reliability of technology in identifying and capturing the potential suspects. A single mistake could ruin one’s life and leave her traumatised.