An OpenAI employee has been arrested for allegedly planting a recording device in one of the company’s conference rooms, according to the Justice Department. The accused employee is Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national.
Alfozan was taken into custody on Friday and appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday. He faces charges for attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. This investigation revealed that Alfozan had worked for OpenAI as an engineer since July 2025.
On September 30, OpenAI employees discovered the audio recording device inside a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room. The device had been hidden using toilet paper, and it was installed approximately two days before its discovery. The room was regularly used to discuss confidential research, product plans, and business dealings.
OpenAI issued a statement confirming the discovery and their cooperation with the FBI. The company terminated the involved employee and stated, “The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we will continue to support their work. At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data.” The statement stressed the importance of protecting their technology, data, and personnel against various threats.
FBI Director Kash Patel mentioned on X that the arrest was conducted by the FBI and its partners and added that investigations are underway. The criminal complaint released on Tuesday accused Alfozan of using a productivity tool to seek information about OpenAI’s office locations and details of meetings with executives and external partners.
Additional evidence showed that a chatbot account linked to Alfozan’s spouse had submitted prompts concerning building, customizing, and installing audio recording devices. A photograph included in the complaint showed Alfozan entering the conference room on October 5 and checking behind the television where the device was hidden.
The complaint also stated that on the same day, Alfozan left his bag unattended in another room, where security personnel found an ID, wallet, and another similar recording device.
Alfozan is scheduled to appear in federal court again on October 19 for a detention hearing. CBS News has reached out to Alfozan’s lawyer for a comment.