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The FBI has arrested an OpenAI employee in connection with a sophisticated listening device found hidden in an executive conference room at the company’s San Francisco office, OpenAI and the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, of Saudi Arabia, was arrested Friday and made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday, the Justice Department said. OpenAI fired him the same day.
According to the Justice Department, OpenAI personnel found the audio recording device plugged into a USB port on a television in the conference room on or about Sept. 30. It had been concealed in toilet paper and installed on or about Sept. 28.
The department said meetings in the room often involved highly confidential and nonpublic information.
OpenAI said it used its internal AI models to identify the person responsible and trace the device's origins. The company said it has no indication that the employee improperly accessed or took model weights, source code or customer data.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Alfozan "allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer’s executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology."
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According to OpenAI, Alfozan planned to place more recording devices. Prosecutors allege he left a bag in a different room on Oct. 5, and security staff who opened it found a similar device. The complaint states he was hired as an engineer in July 2025.
Before his firing, OpenAI took "gradual steps to contain the risk," including restricting his access and placing him on leave, the company said. It referred the matter to the FBI, which continues to investigate.
Alfozan is scheduled to appear in federal court again Oct. 19.
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