Key Takeaways
- • The FBI alleges OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and U.S. legal resident since September 2020, planted a secret audio recording device in an executive conference room in one of OpenAI's San Francisco buildings on or about Sept. 28.
- • Court documents say the device was built after prompts sent between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30 from a ChatGPT account linked to Alfozan's wife; OpenAI confirmed to Fortune the chatbot was its own ChatGPT. The wife is not charged.
- • Alfozan was arrested Oct. 9 and faces one count under the federal Wiretap Act, which carries up to five years in prison; prosecutors seek no bail.
- • Prosecutors say Alfozan and two family members had one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul for Oct. 12, three days after his arrest.
- • OpenAI said it had "no indications" that model weights, source code, or customer data were taken.
Summary
According to court documents unsealed Tuesday, the FBI alleges that Abdulrahman Alfozan, an OpenAI engineer, used a ChatGPT account linked to his wife to plan a covert recording device. The prompts, sent between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30, asked for a "continuous audio recorder" with live listening, downloading and deleting of recordings, encrypted storage, a power-only USB output, and speech-triggered recording. Prosecutors say that on or about Sept. 28 Alfozan hid the device behind a television in an executive conference room in a San Francisco office. OpenAI confirmed to Fortune that the chatbot was its own ChatGPT, and that it referenced Alfozan's personal account and shared unique identifiers and IP usage. The complaint does not charge his wife.
The complaint also alleges earlier use of an internal OpenAI productivity agent, about six weeks before the device was placed, to identify meeting rooms that could hold six or more people and that would host high-powered meetings. According to an FBI affidavit, Alfozan selected the room because meetings there would "frequently involve discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information." He did not have authorized access to the room, where only executives and their assistants could reserve space.
Alfozan, 35, was arrested Oct. 9. He faces one count under the Wiretap Act. The affidavit says he used a device to intercept oral communications, but it is unknown whether it captured any conversation. A forensic copy of the memory card could not be recovered or decrypted, though the affidavit says its contents "may have been" encrypted. Staff found the device on Sept. 30 during a routine sweep, according to OpenAI. It was a Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense board with a microphone and microSD storage. After a camera was installed in the room by Oct. 5, CCTV showed Alfozan checking behind the TV. Security also found a second recording board in a bag he left in a printer room; he later reported other items as stolen without asking about the device.
Prosecutors cite the one-way tickets as evidence of flight risk and argue he would have an incentive to flee if he learned of the case before arrest. The government's filing requests no bail and lists deportation among possible penalties. The complaint does not charge trade-secret theft or economic espionage and does not allege a foreign tie, though a trial attorney from the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section is assisting. Under the Speedy Trial Act, prosecutors have 30 days from arrest to indict, and a grand jury can add charges. Alfozan is due back in court Oct. 19 for a detention hearing. OpenAI did not respond to Fortune's request for comment on whether it was alerted to the prompts before discovering the device.
The complaint also alleges earlier use of an internal OpenAI productivity agent, about six weeks before the device was placed, to identify meeting rooms that could hold six or more people and that would host high-powered meetings. According to an FBI affidavit, Alfozan selected the room because meetings there would "frequently involve discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information." He did not have authorized access to the room, where only executives and their assistants could reserve space.
Alfozan, 35, was arrested Oct. 9. He faces one count under the Wiretap Act. The affidavit says he used a device to intercept oral communications, but it is unknown whether it captured any conversation. A forensic copy of the memory card could not be recovered or decrypted, though the affidavit says its contents "may have been" encrypted. Staff found the device on Sept. 30 during a routine sweep, according to OpenAI. It was a Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense board with a microphone and microSD storage. After a camera was installed in the room by Oct. 5, CCTV showed Alfozan checking behind the TV. Security also found a second recording board in a bag he left in a printer room; he later reported other items as stolen without asking about the device.
Prosecutors cite the one-way tickets as evidence of flight risk and argue he would have an incentive to flee if he learned of the case before arrest. The government's filing requests no bail and lists deportation among possible penalties. The complaint does not charge trade-secret theft or economic espionage and does not allege a foreign tie, though a trial attorney from the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section is assisting. Under the Speedy Trial Act, prosecutors have 30 days from arrest to indict, and a grand jury can add charges. Alfozan is due back in court Oct. 19 for a detention hearing. OpenAI did not respond to Fortune's request for comment on whether it was alerted to the prompts before discovering the device.
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