U.S. federal prosecutors have filed charges against Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national who worked as an engineer at OpenAI, accusing him of using an electronic device to intercept oral communications.

OpenAI reported that a “sophisticated recording device” was found concealed in an executive conference room of its San Francisco office and that the company promptly notified the FBI while employing its own AI models to trace the device to an employee.

The device, wrapped in toilet paper, had been inserted into a USB port on the back of a television on September 30, two days after prosecutors say it was installed, according to statements from FBI Director Kash Patel.

Patel indicated the alleged purpose was to capture sensitive discussions about OpenAI’s advanced AI products, though the company said there is currently no evidence that source code, model weights or customer data were accessed.

Alfozan, who joined OpenAI in July 2025, was terminated following the incident and made his first court appearance on Tuesday; it is not yet clear whether he has retained legal counsel.

If convicted, the engineer faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Investigators also recovered a second recording device and Alfozan’s personal items, including his wallet and ID, from an unattended bag found elsewhere in the building on October 5.

FBI analysis revealed that Alfozan had used productivity tools and a chatbot to research how to build, hide and remotely access a continuous audio recorder, including prompts about Wi‑Fi connectivity and encrypting an SD card.