FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of planting secret recording device in conference room
The suspect, Abdurahman Alfozan, is a Saudi national who joined OpenAI in 2025.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) arrested an OpenAI employee on Tuesday, accusing him of secretly recording conversations in a conference room at the company's San Francisco offices. The suspect, Abdurahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi citizen, worked as an engineering lead on OpenAI's "Agents Platform" and formerly held a position at Meta for five years.
Alfozan was discovered after the company's specialized security team found a sophisticated recording device in a USB port on a TV in the conference room on September 30. The device, which had advanced encryption and monitoring capabilities, was designed to evade detection. OpenAI informed the FBI of the incident, and the suspect was subsequently arrested and is currently in federal custody.
He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three years of supervised release if convicted.
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