Saudi man charged with planting 'sophisticated' recording device in OpenAI office

A Saudi national, Abdulrahman Alfozan, has been charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI's offices in California.

Prosecutors say the device, wrapped in toilet paper, was found inserted in a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room.

OpenAI said it had discovered the 'sophisticated recording device' hidden in their San Francisco office and alerted the FBI.

The company used its AI models to track that it had been planted by an employee.

Alfozan has been working as an engineer at OpenAI since July 2025, prosecutors say.

On September 30, OpenAI employees discovered the device - two days after prosecutors say it had been installed. The device was encrypted, prosecutors said.

OpenAI said they were able to use their AI models 'to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier).

According to the FBI, the suspect used a 'productivity tool' and a 'chatbot' to research sensitive locations at OpenAI and how to secretly place audio equipment.

Chatbot prompts that he is alleged to have searched include 'building, customizing, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating, and remote accessing a device', prosecutors allege.

He is also accused of using the chatbot to ask about '''build[ing] a continuous audio recorder,''' 'customiz[ing] Wi-Fi . . . connectivity,'' 'improv[ing] audio and live listening,'' and 'encrypt[ing] the SD card''

The device was allegedly concealed in toilet paper.

On 5 October, prosecutors say he allegedly returned to inspect the device in the office room.

Prosecutors used CCTV camera footage to link him to the scene.

That same day, Alfozan left a bag unattended in a different part of the building. A security team for OpenAI opened it to find his wallet and ID, as well as another recording device that was similar to the one found in the office conference room, prosecutors said.

Alfozan appeared in court on Tuesday. It's unclear whether he has legal representation.

If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 (£187,000).

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