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Prosecutors asked a judge to seal details of a case against Abdulrahman Alfozan, who is suspected of planting eavesdropping devices connected to OpenAI, citing his reported purchase of a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia. They argued the booking indicated a flight risk that justified withholding case information from public disclosure.
The FBI arrested and the Justice Department charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and OpenAI product team employee since July 2025, with illegally using a device to intercept oral communications. Investigators say he hid a thumb-sized camera and microphone board inside a TV port in a restricted executive conference room, and left a second device with his wallet and ID in a printer room. OpenAI says it found the first device on September 30, alerted the FBI, and fired Alfozan before his arrest on October 9.
OpenAI discovered a USB recording device wrapped in toilet paper and plugged into a TV in a restricted executive conference room where leadership discussed confidential matters. The FBI alleges the device was planted by Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer, and CCTV footage shows him later trying to retrieve it. He was arrested and fired on Friday, and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of unlawful recording charges.
Federal prosecutors charged OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, after the company discovered a hidden, encrypted audio recording device in one of its conference rooms. OpenAI said it traced the device to Alfozan using its own models, fired him, and referred the case to the FBI, which arrested him on Friday. The company said it has found no evidence he accessed model weights, source code or customer data.
Federal prosecutors have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national who worked as an OpenAI engineer since July 2025, with planting a hidden recording device in an executive meeting room at the company's San Francisco office. OpenAI's security team discovered the encrypted device, built from a $13.99 Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 board, around September 30, and later found a second similar device along with Alfozan's wallet in a bag he left behind. He was arrested on October 9 and appeared in federal court on October 13 facing charges of attempting to intercept oral communications.
Federal prosecutors allege that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer, hid an audio recording device wrapped in toilet paper behind a monitor in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office. He allegedly used internal AI chatbot tools to research the room's meeting schedule and to get technical guidance on building the covert device, and a second recording device was reportedly found in his bag. OpenAI fired Alfozan last Friday, and he faces a federal charge of illegally intercepting oral communications, which carries up to five years in prison.
The FBI arrested OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, on October 9 after a covert recording device was discovered in the company's executive conference room. OpenAI said the device had been planted days earlier and the employee was fired; the DOJ says surveillance footage placed him near and inside the room beforehand, and a bag found nearby contained his ID and a second similar device.
Federal prosecutors have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer hired in July 2025, with planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco headquarters. OpenAI says it discovered the device on September 30 plugged into a TV's USB port and concealed with toilet paper, then used its own AI models to trace it to Alfozan before alerting the FBI and firing him. Prosecutors allege he researched OpenAI's facilities and may have used a chatbot to learn how to build, hide and encrypt data from a recording device.
OpenAI says it discovered a hidden surveillance device planted in an executive conference room by employee Abdulrahman Alfozan, who was fired and arrested by the FBI on October 9. Federal prosecutors charged him with illegally intercepting oral communications after the device, found hidden behind a TV's USB port, was linked to him via a camera OpenAI had installed. OpenAI says it has found no evidence the employee accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data.
Federal prosecutors arrested OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, after a hidden audio device was found plugged into a TV's USB port in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco headquarters. Investigators say the device, concealed in toilet paper, was installed around September 28 and recorded encrypted data; a separate unattended bag containing Alfozan's wallet, ID and another recording device was also found. He faces charges of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications and remains in custody.
The DOJ has charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, an OpenAI employee since July 2025, with illegally intercepting oral communications after a covert recording device was found plugged into a USB port behind a TV in an executive conference room on September 30. Prosecutors say the device, hidden in toilet paper and containing encrypted data, was installed around September 28, and that security footage placed Alfozan near the room despite his lacking authorization to attend meetings there.