A Saudi national who worked as an engineer at OpenAI has been arrested in the United States for allegedly planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco offices to secretly capture sensitive conversations.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on October 9 and charged with illegally intercepting oral communications. Alfozan had worked at OpenAI since July 2025.
According to the DOJ, OpenAI security personnel discovered a concealed audio recording device on September 30, plugged into a USB port behind a television in an executive conference room. Investigators allege that the device had been installed around September 28 and concealed in toilet paper. It reportedly contained encrypted data.
The conference room was regularly used for meetings involving confidential information about OpenAI’s proprietary research, product plans, technical capabilities, business relationships, and government engagements, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators allege that security camera footage showed Alfozan near the conference room on multiple occasions, despite not being authorized to attend meetings held there. The complaint also says he used a productivity tool to search for information about OpenAI’s offices, meeting rooms, executive locations, and meeting schedules.
Prosecutors further allege that a chatbot account associated with Alfozan’s spouse was used to ask questions about building and concealing recording devices. The prompts reportedly covered creating a continuous audio recorder, modifying Wi-Fi connectivity, improving live listening capabilities, and encrypting an SD card.
According to the complaint, the same chatbot account submitted prompts specifically related to the discovered recording device, including references to its custom header and unique MAC address, between September 27 and September 28.
On October 5, surveillance footage allegedly showed Alfozan returning to the conference room and looking behind the television where the first device had been installed. The complaint also states that OpenAI security employees discovered a second similar recording device inside a bag Alfozan had left unattended in another room.
OpenAI said it used its own AI models to investigate the suspicious device and help identify the employee allegedly responsible for planting it. In a statement posted on X, the company said its models helped it understand the device and trace it to an employee who had allegedly installed it several days earlier.
The company said it terminated the employee and referred the matter to the FBI for further investigation. OpenAI also said it had found no indications that the individual had improperly accessed or stolen model weights, source code, or customer data.
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Alfozan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. The allegations have not been proven in court, and the case remains subject to the legal process.
