OpenAI engineer charged over alleged bug in exec room

The alleged surveillance at OpenAI unfolded over several weeks, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday. Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi Arabian national and US permanent resident, reportedly queried an internal "productivity agent" to ask about meetings scheduled in the targeted conference room, and used a chatbot account associated with his spouse to research setting up a covert audio recording device. He joined OpenAI in July 2025 and was fired last Friday to coincide with his arrest.

The targeted conference room can be reserved only by executives and executive assistants, and is typically used for internal leadership meetings, technical and product sessions, and external briefings with business partners and government officials. It is frequently used for discussions involving highly confidential information, including about research, products, business strategy, and government relationships. FBI director Kash Patel said Alfozan aimed "to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology," but prosecutors and OpenAI have not offered information about a potential motive.

OpenAI's security team found the device on September 30 during a countersurveillance sweep and notified the FBI. The company connected it to Alfozan after reviewing chat logs and surveillance footage, and searching a bag he left unattended in a printer room on October 5. That bag contained a second encrypted Seeed listening device and personal items including his wallet. Prosecutors say Alfozan later reported the bag as missing and recovered it from lost and found, but did not mention the second listening device. Alfozan previously worked at a cargo logistics startup and at Meta, and his LinkedIn profile lists him as a part-time venture partner at RAED Ventures, a Saudi VC firm.