Saudi man charged over hidden recording device in OpenAI office

A Saudi national has been charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI’s offices in California, federal prosecutors announced, BBC News reported. Abdulrahman Alfozan, an OpenAI engineer since July 2025, was charged federally with using or endeavoring to use a device to intercept oral communications.

OpenAI said it discovered a “sophisticated recording device” hidden in its San Francisco office and alerted the FBI. Prosecutors say the device, wrapped in toilet paper, was inserted in a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room. OpenAI said it has no indication that source code, model weights or customer data were inappropriately accessed, and the employee has been fired.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Alfozan “allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer’s executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications.” Alfozan appeared in court on Tuesday. If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 (£187,000).