Federal prosecutors accuse an OpenAI engineer of secretly recording private meetings.
A 35-year-old Saudi Arabian national who worked as an engineer for OpenAI has been arrested after federal investigators accused him of secretly placing audio recording devices inside the company’s San Francisco offices. Abdulrahman Alfozan was taken into custody on October 9 and appeared in federal court on October 13, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The engineer faces a charge related to the alleged interception of private conversations.
Federal prosecutors say one recording device was found inside an executive conference room, where company leaders regularly discussed private business matters and advanced technology. The discovery raised concerns about whether confidential conversations involving research, future products and business plans had been recorded without permission. The allegations remain unproven, and a conviction would be required before Alfozan could be found guilty.
According to the criminal complaint, Alfozan had worked at OpenAI as an engineer since July 2025. Company employees discovered the first recording device on or around September 30, 2026. Investigators say it had been connected to a USB port on the back of a television inside an executive conference room. The device was reportedly hidden in toilet paper, and its contents were encrypted.
The room was used for meetings involving sensitive company information, including research findings, plans for upcoming products, business opportunities and discussions about the company’s technical progress. Other topics reportedly included government dealings, business partners, company priorities and future plans. The complaint states that Alfozan did not have permission to attend meetings in the room or access it for those purposes.
Investigators reviewed security camera footage and reported that Alfozan appeared near the conference room on several occasions before the device was discovered. The complaint also describes searches he allegedly made before the device was installed. Using a work productivity tool, he reportedly looked up office addresses, meeting rooms, room sizes, calendars, executive locations and meetings involving outside partners.
Federal authorities also examined activity connected to a chatbot account associated with Alfozan’s spouse. According to the complaint, that account shared several identifying details with an account linked to Alfozan. Between September 24 and September 30, the account submitted questions about building and setting up an audio recording device, improving its wireless connection, testing its ability to capture sound, hiding its presence and accessing it remotely.
Some of the reported questions concerned continuous audio recording, live listening, wireless connectivity and encrypting a memory card. Investigators also identified prompts that allegedly referred to details of the device found at OpenAI, including its custom header and unique network identifier. These findings form part of the evidence described by prosecutors, but the allegations have not been established in court.
The complaint against the engineer further states that on October 5, Alfozan entered the executive conference room and appeared to look behind the television where the first device had been placed. On the same date, he allegedly left a bag unattended in another room inside an OpenAI building. Security personnel found the bag and opened it, discovering a second recording device similar to the first. The bag also contained personal belongings, including his wallet and identification, according to the court documents.
Federal officials described the investigation as a matter involving the protection of American technology and confidential business information. FBI Director Kash Patel said the complaint alleges that the device was placed to capture private discussions about the company’s advanced technology. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton also connected the case to concerns about protecting sensitive American research from foreign threats.
The FBI is investigating the case, with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Justice Department’s National Security Division handling the prosecution. If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
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Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at OpenAI
DOJ says Saudi national arrested for installing audio recording device at OpenAI
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