Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, appeared in federal court on Tuesday following his arrest on Friday. He faces a single charge of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, according to authorities.
,The criminal complaint details that OpenAI personnel found a recording device hidden inside a roll of toilet paper and plugged into a television. Staff made the discovery on or about September 30 in an executive conference room at the company headquarters in San Francisco.
,Investigators believe the gadget was installed two days earlier. The executive room was frequently used for confidential discussions covering research, product plans and business strategies.
,Surveillance footage placed Alfozan near the conference room on multiple occasions. The complaint stated he lacked authorization to attend meetings inside that space.
,Investigators also reviewed chatbot queries linked to an account belonging to his spouse. The searches focused on building, concealing and remotely accessing recording devices.
,Security personnel later located a second recording device inside a bag belonging to Alfozan. OpenAI stated on the social media platform X that it uncovered the security breach through its internal investigation.
,The artificial intelligence firm referred the matter directly to the FBI and terminated the employee. OpenAI stated it had no indication that model weights, source code or customer data were improperly accessed or extracted.
,Alfozan faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted. He could also face a fine of 250,000 dollars.
