OpenAI employee accused of planting recording device in office
A Saudi national who worked at OpenAI as an engineer is suspected of planting a recording device in one of the company's conference rooms.
Key points
- OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on charges of planting a recording device in a conference room.
- The device was found Sept. 30 hidden in toilet paper and plugged into a TV in an executive meeting room.
- OpenAI fired Alfozan, contacted the FBI, and says no model weights or customer data were accessed.
An OpenAI employee has been arrested on criminal charges after being accused of secretly planting a recording device in one of the company's conference rooms, the Justice Department said Tuesday. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, was arrested Friday and appeared Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Alfozan, an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025, is charged with attempting to intercept oral communications using an electronic or mechanical device. He is due back in federal court on Oct. 19 for a detention hearing.
Device found in executive room
Prosecutors said OpenAI employees discovered the audio recorder on Sept. 30, plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room. The company later determined the device had been concealed in toilet paper and installed about two days earlier.
The Justice Department said the room was often used for discussions of highly confidential and proprietary matters, including research, product plans and business development.
We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance.
— OpenAI
Investigation and company response
OpenAI said it contacted the FBI after finding the device and terminated the accused employee. The company said there were no indications the individual inappropriately accessed or removed model weights, source code or customer data.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the FBI and its partners made the arrest and that the investigation is ongoing. Alfozan's attorney, William Pernik, told CBS News his client is presumed innocent and warned against jumping to conclusions or politicizing the case based on nationality.
The criminal complaint, made public Tuesday, alleged Alfozan used a productivity tool to ask about OpenAI's building addresses, meeting rooms, capacities and calendars, and locations of leadership and partner meetings. It also said a chatbot account linked to his spouse submitted prompts between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30 about building, installing, testing and remotely accessing a continuous audio recording device. A photo in the complaint showed Alfozan entering the conference room on Oct. 5 and looking behind the television; that day, security staff opened his unattended bag and found his ID, wallet and another similar recording device.
