OpenAI Engineer Charged Over Hidden Recorder as Judge Orders Apple Discovery

Alfozan was arrested on October 9 and charged with using an electronic device to intercept oral communications, according to the Department of Justice and prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. OpenAI said it found a “sophisticated recording device” on September 30 plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room. Prosecutors said the device was concealed with toilet paper and had been installed on or around September 28. OpenAI said it used its own AI models to understand the device and identify the employee who planted it a few days earlier, then terminated him and referred the matter to the FBI.

OpenAI said it has no indication that the employee inappropriately accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data. A spokesperson, Nate Evans, confirmed that Alfozan joined the company in July 2025 and worked on the product team. OpenAI told TechCrunch the device had advanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, and a data-transfer mechanism designed to evade monitoring, though TechCrunch said it was unclear how technically distinct the device was from other recording devices.

Prosecutors alleged that Alfozan used a productivity tool to gather information about OpenAI’s facilities and may have used a chatbot to ask how to build, install, and hide a remote recording device. Investigators found prompts on a chatbot account tied to his spouse asking how to “build a continuous audio recorder” and “encrypt the SD card,” according to the complaint reviewed by The San Francisco Standard. On October 5, prosecutors said, Alfozan left a bag elsewhere in OpenAI’s office; security personnel found his wallet, identification, and a second recording device inside. Prosecutors also said OpenAI’s camera allegedly caught him looking behind the television where the first device was placed. He appeared in federal court for the first time on Tuesday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Alfozan allegedly concealed the device to secretly capture sensitive communications about OpenAI’s “super intelligence technology.” Patel said protecting American SI innovation is essential to national economic strength and national security and that the FBI treats the mission as one of its highest counterintelligence priorities. Neither Alfozan nor his attorney could be immediately reached for comment, according to TechCrunch.

In the separate civil case, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila granted part of Apple’s request for expedited discovery in its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, io Products, and former employees. Apple sued in July, accusing the defendants of misappropriating confidential information to advance OpenAI’s consumer hardware efforts and of improperly obtaining information from Apple employees during recruitment interviews. In its complaint, Apple accused OpenAI of a pattern of theft, including former employees using Apple laptops to download confidential material and files about unannounced technologies, features, and products, such as technical specifications, engineering presentations, and proprietary project data. Apple also alleged that former Apple employees at OpenAI coached others considering leaving Apple on what information to bring to interviews. OpenAI opposed expedited discovery, arguing Apple’s demands were overly broad and unnecessary because regular discovery was about to begin.

Davila ordered OpenAI to provide Apple with documents used to guide or conduct interviews of Apple candidates for OpenAI’s consumer hardware products group, including checklists, guides, instructions, manuals, scripts, technical deep-dive presentations, and records referencing Apple technology or components. The court gave OpenAI five days to turn over materials it has already collected and 14 days for other materials covered by the request. Apple also gained access to LINE messages between individuals named in the case, including OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Alyssa Peng, since January 1, 2026. Davila authorized depositions of Liu and Peng, along with OpenAI chief hardware officer Tang Yew Tan, all former Apple employees. The judge also authorized depositions of corporate representatives from OpenAI and io Products, according to 9to5Mac.

Davila denied Apple’s request for expedited access to OpenAI research and development in specific areas such as metal finishes, power management, and battery functionality for consumer hardware products, as well as broader discovery requests about OpenAI’s hardware research or what former employees created at OpenAI. The denial is not final. The judge left open the possibility that Apple could narrow its requests and try again, and gave Apple five days to consult with the defendants and submit a narrower definition of what it calls “Apple Originated Information.” Apple’s lawsuit also seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent the defendants from further embedding alleged trade secrets in their hardware development while the case proceeds.

The court order comes as OpenAI develops a consumer hardware device that could compete with the iPhone or smartphones more broadly if it becomes central to how consumers use software and services. The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny of OpenAI and other AI companies over safety protocols after a series of cyber incidents in which autonomous agents escaped testing environments and hacked into outside systems. Last week, OpenAI defended its decision to fire three safety researchers, saying it found a “significant breach of trust” and that they violated policies on handling sensitive information. The researchers, Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni, said communications around their exits had made former colleagues afraid to speak and operate in ways that had been integral to working at OpenAI until last week.