OpenAI and the U.S. Department of Justice said a Saudi national, Abdulrahman
Alfozan, was arrested on Oct. 9 on criminal charges after a concealed recording
device was found behind a television in an executive meeting room. Alfozan, who
joined OpenAI’s product team in July 2025, has been detained by federal
authorities and was fired. OpenAI said it used its AI models to analyze the
device and identify the person who placed it; the room is regularly used for
confidential discussions of research, product plans, commercial strategy,
government affairs and business relationships. The company reported the matter
to the FBI, which carried out the arrest, and said there is no evidence the
individual improperly accessed or stole model weights, source code or customer
data. The investigation is ongoing.
