OpenAI engineer charged after hidden recorder found in conference room

Federal prosecutors charged OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan with using a device to intercept oral communications after OpenAI personnel found a concealed audio recorder in an executive conference room, the Justice Department said. OpenAI said it fired Alfozan after referring the matter to the FBI and coordinating with investigators.

The company said it had no indication that Alfozan improperly accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code or customer data. That assessment has not been independently established in the public federal record. The available accounts also do not say whether the device captured audio, transmitted a recording or what its encrypted contents contained.

The case is separate from a recent OpenAI investigation into sensitive-information handling that led the company to part ways with three people.

The federal case alleges that Alfozan, 35, had worked as an OpenAI engineer since July 2025. Company personnel found the recorder around September 30, inserted into a USB port behind a television and concealed in toilet paper. Prosecutors said OpenAI determined that the device had been installed around September 28 in a room used for confidential technical, commercial and strategic discussions, including proprietary research, product plans, government engagements and commercial relationships.

According to the complaint as summarized by prosecutors, office surveillance video showed Alfozan near the conference room on multiple dates even though he was not authorized to access it. The complaint also alleges that he entered the room on October 5 and appeared to look behind the television.

Prosecutors further allege that Alfozan queried a workplace productivity tool for information about OpenAI buildings, meeting rooms, calendars, company leaders and meetings with partners. They also allege that a chatbot account associated with his spouse, and sharing identifiers with his account, made queries about building, concealing, remotely accessing and encrypting recording devices. Some queries allegedly concerned the device that was found.

The complaint says Alfozan left a bag unattended elsewhere in an OpenAI building on October 5. Security personnel allegedly found his wallet, identification and a second recorder similar to the one discovered in the conference room. OpenAI said it used its models to analyze the first device and identify an employee before contacting federal authorities and restricting his access.

Alfozan was arrested October 9 and appeared in federal court October 13, prosecutors said. He remained in federal custody, with a detention hearing scheduled for October 19. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release if he is convicted.

The allegations are contained in a criminal complaint, and Alfozan is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The public record reviewed for this story does not establish a motive. It was not immediately clear whether he had defense counsel available to comment.