OpenAI Employee Allegedly Hid Audio Recorder in Toilet Paper at San Francisco Office

Federal prosecutors say Abdulrahman Alfozan used AI chatbots and an internal OpenAI tool while planning an alleged surveillance operation targeting confidential company meetings.

Alleged surveillance According to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, OpenAI allegedly found an audio recording device hidden inside toilet paper and another mounted behind a monitor in an executive conference room at one of the company’s San Francisco offices.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, whom federal prosecutors identify as a Saudi national and permanent resident of the United States, allegedly spent several weeks contacting unspecified “productivity agents” and “AI chatbots” to plan the surveillance operation. Prosecutors say he also used an in-house OpenAI tool to ask about upcoming meetings in target conference rooms.

According to prosecutors and court filings, Alfozan appears to have used a chatbot account associated with his spouse to ask technical questions about setting up a secret voice-recording device.

OpenAI’s security team also allegedly found an additional unattached recording device in Alfozan’s office bag.

Alfozan could not be reached for comment. He made his first appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, where he faced charges of “using electronic, mechanical, or other devices to intercept oral communications.” If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison. Alfozan joined OpenAI in July 2025 and was fired last Friday, the same day as his arrest.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Alfozan allegedly intended to “secretly capture confidential communications regarding the company’s superintelligence technology.” Neither prosecutors nor OpenAI have provided information about a potential motive. Read the Department of Justice statement.

“At this time, there is no indication that this individual has inappropriately accessed or compromised model weights, source code, or customer data,” OpenAI said in a statement on X. “We take the protection of technology, data and people seriously as national priorities.”

How OpenAI allegedly discovered the recording devices

OpenAI discovered the device during a countersurveillance sweep on September 30. Prosecutors say one recording device was “hidden in toilet paper” and another was “inserted into a USB port on the back of a television” in a conference room.

Alfozan’s previous work and Saudi tech connections

Alfozan previously worked at a freight logistics startup and Meta, according to his LinkedIn profile. In recent podcast interviews, he is also described as part of a group of Saudi Arabian engineers in Silicon Valley. He provided consulting services to an organization in Saudi Arabia.

His LinkedIn profile lists him as a part-time “venture partner” at RAED Ventures, a Saudi Arabia-based venture capital firm. Neither RAED Ventures nor Meta immediately responded to WIRED’s requests for comment.