Grand jury indicts ex-OpenAI engineer accused of hiding a bug in an executive conference room

A federal grand jury in San Francisco on Tuesday indicted Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, on a felony charge of intercepting oral communications. Prosecutors say the Saudi national, who joined OpenAI as an engineer in July 2025, hid an encrypted recording device wrapped in toilet paper behind a TV in an executive conference room used for confidential research, business and government discussions, and used it from about Sept. 28 to Oct. 5. OpenAI found the device during a security sweep on Sept. 30; Alfozan was arrested Oct. 9 and has since been fired. The indictment includes a forfeiture allegation, and the charge carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His lawyer has asked the public to withhold judgment.