Angela Lipps was arrested at her home in Elizabethton, Tennessee, on July 14, 2025, by US Marshals at gunpoint while babysitting four children. She was held in a county jail for 108 days without bail before being flown to North Dakota on charges including felony theft and felony unauthorized use of personal identifying information. Her arrest came as police in Fargo were investigating a bank fraud case in which someone used a fake US Army ID to take out thousands of dollars between April and May 2025.
Lipps' attorneys obtained bank records proving she was at a local gas station in Tennessee, ordering a pizza and using CashApp at the times police said she was in Fargo, North Dakota. Police questioned Lipps about the matter on December 19, 2025, and she said it took just five minutes for the case to fall apart. It remains unclear why it took five months for police to question her and review this exculpatory evidence.
The West Fargo Police Department did not forward any charges to the Cass County State's Attorney's Office regarding Angela Lipps.
Lipps was released from custody on Christmas Eve 2025 after Fargo detectives, the state's attorney, and a local judge mutually agreed to dismiss the charges without prejudice to allow for further investigation. The current status of the bank fraud investigation in Fargo and West Fargo, and whether there are any new suspects, has not been disclosed. Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski admitted that officers made multiple errors in the investigation but would not apologize to Angela Lipps.
The West Fargo Police Department was investigating a similar case and ran fake IDs through their in-house AI software, then forwarded that information to Fargo detectives. Fargo detectives wrongly assumed that West Fargo police had also sent surveillance photos with the photo ID information. The West Fargo Police Department shared the connection to Angela Lipps with the Fargo Police Department at their request in relation to their open cases.
Detectives did not have enough evidence to charge any person of interest for that incident that took place in the City of West Fargo.
According to Daily Mail - News, a West Fargo Police Department spokesperson described that the department did not forward any charges to the Cass County State's Attorney's Office regarding Angela Lipps. The spokesperson also noted that West Fargo detectives did not have enough evidence to charge any person of interest for the incident that took place in West Fargo. Fargo police erred by not submitting surveillance photos associated with the fraud case to the North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center, which is certified and trained in facial recognition.
Fargo police have since submitted the surveillance photos to the North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center, which has provided police with other potential suspects based on the footage. What legal actions or compensation Angela Lipps is pursuing following her wrongful imprisonment remains unknown.