A hidden recording device was found in an executive conference room at OpenAI’s San Francisco office, leading to the arrest of an employee accused of secretly recording confidential conversations.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested on October 9, 2026, on charges of using or attempting to use an electronic device to intercept oral communications. Alfozan joined OpenAI as an engineering lead in July 2025. The company has since terminated his employment.
According to the criminal complaint, OpenAI employees discovered the recording device on or around September 30. It was connected to a USB port at the back of a television in an executive conference room and allegedly concealed with toilet paper.
The room was used for meetings involving confidential technical research, product plans, business strategies, government engagements, and commercial relationships.
According to the complaint, CCTV footage showed Alfozan near the executive conference room on multiple occasions before the device was discovered, despite having no authority to access or attend meetings held there.
Investigators also allege that he used a productivity tool to gather information about OpenAI’s office locations, meeting rooms, room capacities, calendars, executive locations, and meetings with external partners.
The complaint further alleges that a chatbot account associated with Alfozan’s spouse submitted prompts between September 24 and 30 about building and customizing an audio recording device. These included requests related to continuous audio recording, Wi-Fi connectivity, live audio monitoring, SD card encryption, and remote access.
The same account reportedly submitted prompts about the device’s custom header and unique MAC address between September 27 and 28.
On October 5, Alfozan allegedly entered the executive conference room and appeared to look behind the television where the device had been installed. The complaint also says he left a bag unattended in another room at an OpenAI building. The bag reportedly contained a second recording device, along with his wallet and identification.
These details are allegations in the criminal complaint and have not been proven in court.
OpenAI said it referred the matter to the FBI after discovering that an employee had allegedly planted the device. In a statement on X, the company said it used its own AI models to understand the device and determine where it came from.
The company told TechCrunch that the device had advanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, and a data transfer mechanism designed to evade monitoring. OpenAI also said it had found no indication that the employee had improperly accessed or extracted model weights, source code, or customer data.
The company did not provide further details about how its AI models helped investigate the device.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the device was allegedly planted to capture sensitive conversations about OpenAI’s superintelligence technology. He described protecting advanced AI research as a priority for US national security and counterintelligence.
If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release.
