The engineer who bugged OpenAI's boardroom was just indicted

A federal grand jury indicted former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan on Tuesday, October 27, on a felony charge of intercepting oral communications: prosecutors say he used electronic devices to intercept communications related to OpenAI's business operations between about September 28 and October 5.

Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national who joined OpenAI in July 2025, was arrested October 9 after the company found a recording device wrapped in toilet paper behind a television in an executive conference room; a second device turned up in a bag he left unattended in the building. He has been held without bail since, with his next court date set for November 6.

The indictment carries no espionage count — the FBI is only weighing whether to add one, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a single law-enforcement official — but the wiretapping charge alone carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the case includes a forfeiture allegation covering the recording devices.