OpenAI recording device discovery in one of the company’s offices led to an FBI referral and the arrest of an employee, the company said.
In a statement posted to X on Tuesday, OpenAI said it used its models to analyze the device and trace its origins, which it said pointed to a specific employee who allegedly planted it days earlier. The company said it notified the FBI, thanked agents and prosecutors for acting quickly to make an arrest, and noted that the federal investigation is ongoing.
OpenAI recording device prompts federal charges
According to the Department of Justice, the employee is allegedly 35-year-old Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national. He was arrested on October 9 and charged with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications. The Justice Department said Alfozan made his first appearance in federal court on Tuesday.
A criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of California states that a USB device was discovered on the back of a television in an executive conference room, concealed inside toilet paper. Photos filed with the court show the device positioned behind a television. Prosecutors said the hardware comprised a thumb-sized development board with a detachable camera sensor, a digital microphone, and microSD storage.
The complaint states that CCTV footage showed Alfozan near the conference room on multiple dates before the device was found. According to prosecutors, meetings in that room often covered highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic topics, including proprietary research, product plans, business development, and nonpublic details about OpenAI’s progress, decisions, capabilities, priorities, government engagements, and commercial relationships.
Prosecutors further allege that Alfozan used a productivity tool to look up OpenAI building addresses and meeting rooms, and that a chatbot account associated with his spouse submitted prompts about constructing and concealing an audio recording device. Queries cited in the complaint included requests for “today’s meetings in this room” and “what meeting was this presented at and when was it recorded.”
A LinkedIn profile with the defendant’s name lists roles as an engineering lead at OpenAI and a partner at Riyadh-based Raed Ventures, which invests in early-stage tech startups across the Middle East and North Africa. A contact tied to the LinkedIn account and a spokesperson for Raed did not immediately respond to messages, and Alfozan’s attorney did not return a request for comment.
OpenAI said it has found no evidence that the employee improperly accessed or manipulated model weights, source code, or customer data. The company said the employee was terminated. OpenAI said its models assisted with the technical investigation, including analysis of forensic images from the device’s storage, and that it has evidence the employee intended to place additional recording devices in its offices.
OpenAI described the incident as an example of how AI tools can help address sophisticated security threats.
The disclosure follows a separate matter in which OpenAI recently dismissed three safety and alignment employees, a move the company said was unrelated to the recording device case. The workers, Jasmine Wang, Mikita Balesni, and Tomek Korbak, later published a letter disputing aspects of the claims surrounding their terminations and raised concerns about transparency. OpenAI said an internal investigation found a significant breach of trust and stood by the decision to end their employment.
The company’s recent internal turmoil comes as CEO Sam Altman’s AI regulation stance continues to draw attention in Washington and across the tech industry.