FBI arrests OpenAI engineer in SF over toilet paper

Facade of the offices of artificial intelligence company OpenAI in San Francisco on March 25, 2026.

The FBI arrested an OpenAI employee after he allegedly planted a recording device at one of the company’s San Francisco office buildings.

OpenAI allegedly caught Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer from Saudi Arabia, planting a device wrapped in toilet paper into the USB port of a television in an executive conference room, according to an FBI news release. The company determined Alfozan planted the device on or about Sept. 28 and that its contents were encrypted.

Article continues below this ad

OpenAI announced in a Tuesday post on X that it has “no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data.” Without naming Alfozan, OpenAI said, “The employee was terminated.”

Federal prosecutors allege that OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan attempted to bug a company conference room in San Francisco.

The company also announced that it used its own models to track down the device; however, it did not divulge details on how it used artificial intelligence to crack the case. An OpenAI spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

“We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance,” the company said in the X post. “Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats.”

Alfozan had been employed at OpenAI since August 2025. According to his LinkedIn, he previously was a founding engineer at Nash and a senior systems engineer at Meta.

The FBI alleges that in days leading up to Sept. 28, Alfozan used a “productivity tool” to ask about OpenAI meeting rooms, locations of executives and partner meetings. The agency also alleges an account associated with Alfozan’s spouse has queried a chatbot about building a “continuous audio recorder.” On Oct. 5, OpenAI security allegedly searched Alfozan’s bag at the company’s offices and found another recording device.

Alfozan is charged with “using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications” and could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. It is unclear if Alfozan has representation at this time; the federal public defender’s office in San Francisco did not confirm by publication of this article if it was representing Alfozan. Alfozan did not respond to a request for comment.

“The Bay Area and Silicon Valley lead the world in developing tomorrow’s technology, and our Office will continue to stand at the forefront of protecting that American innovation,” said Craig H. Missakian, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, in a statement. “For us it is a matter of national security. This arrest highlights our relentless efforts in partnership with the FBI to identify and prosecute those who seek to steal our technology, as alleged in the complaint.”

Contact tech reporter Matthew Brown at matthew.brown@sfgate.com or matthewbrownsfgate.11 on Signal.

— Private investigator shakes up a California high school— Search for 'SNL' writer's missing sister leads police to Calif. Airbnb— He poisoned his Berkeley co-worker. He wants the conviction cleared.— Teen killed in Bay Area hotel may be linked to FBI most wanted suspect

Sign up for SFGATE's breaking news email