was charged with hiding a recording device inside an OpenAI office in California, federal prosecutors said on 13 October 2026.
The charge is using a device to . Alfozan had worked at OpenAI as an engineer since July 2025.
OpenAI found the device on 30 September, two days after prosecutors say it was installed. It was wrapped in toilet paper and pushed into a USB port on the back of a TV in an executive conference room. It was encrypted.
OpenAI says it to work out where the device came from and which employee had planted it. The employee was fired. The company says it has no indication that source code, or customer data were accessed or taken.
The charge covers the recording, not the taking of secrets. Nothing was stolen, so the case is about a hidden microphone in a meeting room, not about a foreign government walking off with OpenAI's technology.
On 5 October, prosecutors say Alfozan returned to inspect the device. CCTV footage linked him to the room. That same day he left a bag unattended elsewhere in the building; a security team opened it and found his wallet and ID, plus a second recording device similar to the first.
The FBI says he used a chatbot to research how to build, hide and remotely access audio equipment.
He appeared in court on 13 October 2026. It is unclear whether he has a lawyer. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.