A Saudi national employed as an engineer at OpenAI has been arrested and charged with allegedly installing a concealed audio recording device inside the company’s San Francisco headquarters, according to the Department of Justice.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on Oct. 9 and appeared in federal court. He remains in federal custody and is scheduled to appear before a judge on Oct. 19 for a detention hearing.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, Alfozan had worked as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025.
Company personnel discovered a concealed recording device on or about Sept. 30, inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room. The device had reportedly been wrapped in toilet paper, and its contents were encrypted. Investigators believe it was installed around Sept. 28.
The conference room was used for meetings involving confidential technical, commercial and strategic information, including proprietary research, product plans, business opportunities and nonpublic details about OpenAI’s technology and business relationships.
Investigators allege that office surveillance footage showed Alfozan near the conference room on multiple occasions before the device was discovered, despite him not being authorized to access the room or participate in its meetings.
The complaint also describes searches and chatbot activity allegedly associated with Alfozan and an account linked to his spouse.
The activity reportedly included inquiries about OpenAI’s buildings and executive meeting locations, as well as designing, installing and remotely accessing an audio recording device. Some prompts referenced continuous recording, Wi-Fi connectivity, live listening and encrypting a memory card.
On Oct. 5, Alfozan allegedly entered the conference room and appeared to look behind the television where the first device had been found. That same day, OpenAI security personnel reportedly discovered a second recording device in a bag he had left unattended in another room, the bag also contained his wallet and identification.
OpenAI said it discovered a sophisticated recording device hidden inside one of its offices and used its AI models to help determine where the device came from and identify the employee it believed had planted it.
“We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest,” the company said, adding that the FBI’s investigation remains ongoing.
OpenAI also said the employee had been terminated and that it had found no indication he had improperly accessed or removed model weights, source code or customer data.
The company said its security program is designed to protect against threats ranging from insider risks and cybercriminals to nation-states, describing the case as an example of how AI can help address sophisticated security threats.
Alfozan’s LinkedIn profile lists him as an engineering lead at OpenAI, with previous experience as a senior systems engineer at Meta/Facebook and a founding engineer at Nash.
U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian and FBI Director Kash Patel said the investigation concerned alleged attempts to obtain sensitive information about American technology. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California following an FBI investigation.
Alfozan is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.