OpenAI engineer charged with hiding a recording device in an executive conference room.

The case is one count in a federal complaint, with a five-year maximum. What makes it big is where the device was found and what the complaint says came before it: questions about executive meeting rooms, and chatbot prompts about building a hidden recorder. OpenAI says it has no sign that model weights, source code, or customer data were taken. A complaint is an accusation. It is not a conviction.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a national of Saudi Arabia, made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, four days after his arrest, the Justice Department announced. He is charged with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. CBS News, NBC News, the BBC, and the AP reported the complaint was unsealed Tuesday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. CBS News reported a detention hearing is set for Oct. 19.

According to the complaint, Alfozan had worked as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025. On or about Sept. 30, OpenAI staff found an audio recording device plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room in one of the company's San Francisco buildings. The Justice Department said the device was concealed in toilet paper, its contents were encrypted, and OpenAI determined it had been installed on or about Sept. 28. The room was often used for discussions of confidential research, product plans, business deals, and government engagements, prosecutors said. CCTV showed Alfozan near the room on several dates before the discovery, though he had no authority to be in its meetings, the complaint alleges.

Prosecutors allege that before Sept. 28, Alfozan used a workplace productivity tool to ask about OpenAI building addresses, meeting rooms and their calendars, "leadership and exec" locations, and external partner meetings. The complaint also says a chatbot account tied to Alfozan's spouse, which shared identifiers with his own account, submitted prompts from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30 about building a continuous audio recorder, customizing Wi-Fi connectivity, improving live listening, and encrypting an SD card, including prompts about the specific device's header and MAC address. On Oct. 5, the complaint says, he entered the conference room and appeared to look behind the television. That same day, security staff opened a bag he left unattended and found his wallet, his ID, and a second recording device similar to the first.

OpenAI said it contacted the FBI after finding the device and has fired the employee, CBS News reported. "At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data," the company said. FBI Director Kash Patel said the investigation is ongoing and called protecting American AI work one of the bureau's highest counterintelligence priorities. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California with the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. CBS News said it asked Alfozan's lawyer for comment. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.