OpenAI Engineer Arrested for Allegedly Planting Recording Device

<figure> <img alt="" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/STK155_OPEN_AI_CVirginia__C.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">An OpenAI engineer, Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, was arrested after the company reported discovering a "sophisticated recording device" hidden in one of its offices. Alfozan faces charges of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">OpenAI stated that it utilized its AI models to analyze the device and determine its origin, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days prior.</p> <img alt="" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-13-at-5.24.10-PM.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100" title="" /> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The DOJ noted that OpenAI found the device connected to a TV's USB port in an executive office.</p>