Prosecutors released CCTV images of the suspect allegedly checking on the secret recorder
A Saudi national has been charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI's offices in California, federal prosecutors announced.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked at the AI firm as an engineer, was charged federally with using or endeavouring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications.
OpenAI said it had discovered a "sophisticated recording device" hidden in their San Francisco office and alerted the FBI. The company said it used its AI models to track that it had been planted by an employee.
Prosecutors say the device, wrapped in toilet paper, was found inserted in a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room.
OpenAI, the maker of the popular chatbot ChatGPT, said that it has no indication that source code, model weights or customer data were inappropriately accessed or taken in the incident. It said the employee has been fired.
According to the complaint, Alfozan "allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
Patel said that the alleged goal was to capture information about the company's AI product.
Alfozan has been working as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025, prosecutors say.
On 30 September, OpenAI employees discovered the device - two days after prosecutors say it had been installed. The device was encrypted, prosecutors said.
OpenAI said they were able to use their AI models "to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier".
According to the FBI, the suspect used a "productivity tool" and a "chatbot" to research sensitive locations at OpenAI and how to secretly place audio equipment.
Chatbot prompts that he is alleged to have searched include "building, customising, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating, and remote accessing a device", prosecutors allege.
He is also accused of using the chatbot to ask about "'build[ing] a continuous audio recorder,' 'customis[ing] Wi-Fi . . . connectivity,' 'improv[ing] audio and live listening,' and 'encrypt[ing] the SD card'".
The device was allegedly concealed in toilet paper
On 5 October, prosecutors say he allegedly returned to inspect the device in the office room. Prosecutors used CCTV camera footage to link him to the scene.
That same day, Alfozan left a bag unattended in a different part of the building. A security team for OpenAI opened it to find his wallet and ID, as well as another recording device that was similar to the one found in the office conference room, prosecutors said.
Alfozan appeared in court on Tuesday. It's unclear whether he has legal representation.
If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 (£187,000).
Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Fired OpenAI researchers say they were let go for 'prioritising safety'
Why are there concerns AI could threaten humanity, and how real are they?
AI staff 'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC