FBI Arrests OpenAI Employee Who Planted Hidden Recording Device in Executive Conference Room
Prosecutors say Abdulrahman Alfozan planted an encrypted recorder in an OpenAI conference room to capture discussions about superintelligence. Fired and arrested Oct. 9, 2026, he faces up to five years; OpenAI found no evidence of data theft.
The FBI has arrested a former OpenAI employee accused of planting a covert recording device inside an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office. The suspect, identified by federal prosecutors as Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was fired and arrested on October 9, 2026, roughly a week after OpenAI discovered the device.
Alfozan joined OpenAI in July 2025 and worked on the product team, according to company spokesperson Nate Evans. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California charged him with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications — effectively recording people’s voice audio without their consent. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
OpenAI said the device was found plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in its San Francisco office. The company used its own internal AI models to analyze what it described as a “sophisticated” device containing “advanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, and a mechanism for transferring data designed to evade monitoring.” Alfozan was caught on a camera OpenAI had placed behind the same television, where he was seen looking at the hidden device.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the scheme was intended to “capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology.” OpenAI stated it has found no indications that Alfozan inappropriately accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data.
Patel framed the arrest in broader national security terms. “Protecting American SI innovation is essential to safeguarding our nation’s economic strength and national security, and the FBI views that mission as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities,” he said. Neither Alfozan nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.