Abdulrahman Alfozan, an engineer employed at OpenAI since July 2025, has been federally charged with secretly planting a concealed recording device in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office. Prosecutors say the “sophisticated” device was inserted into a USB port on the back of a TV and wrapped in toilet paper; it was discovered on 30 September after being allegedly installed two days earlier. OpenAI alerted the FBI, used its AI tools to analyze the device and trace it to a specific employee, and has fired Alfozan. The company says there is no indication that source code, model weights or customer data were accessed. The FBI has released CCTV images and described the device as encrypted; if convicted he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors allege Alfozan used productivity tools and a chatbot to research how to build, install, obfuscate, encrypt and remotely access audio-recording equipment, citing specific chat prompts about continuous recorders, Wi‑Fi connectivity and SD‑card encryption. They say he returned on 5 October to check the device - CCTV links him to the scene - and later left a bag elsewhere in the building containing his ID, wallet and a second similar recorder found by security. FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspected aim was to capture information about the company’s AI product.
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