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A federal judge allowed prosecutors to access OpenAI chat records in the Richard Kim fraud probe, setting up a test of whether AI exchanges can be privileged.
As highlighted by Reuters
A federal judge denied a motion to block the data search at OpenAI related to securities fraud charges against Richard Kim in the Zero Edge case.
Judge Lorna Schofield of Manhattan on Monday partially lifted the temporary block on the search in this case.
The search concerns records of his conversations with an OpenAI-operated chatbot. Prosecutors say that his OpenAI accounts and those on a competing platform are likely to contain evidence of an alleged fraud scheme to attract investors to Zero Edge and how their funds may have been used.
While the motion to suppress the search was denied, the ruling does not preclude later efforts to bar prosecutors from using any materials obtained from OpenAI.
Kim’s defense previously stated that during the arrest he used AI tools for research related to the case, which could reveal his defense strategy. Prosecutors responded that interactions with chatbots are not privileged information, since chatbots are not lawyers and do not provide legal advice.
OpenAI is not a party to the suit, and the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
The court’s decision underscores the growing debate over whether conversations with AI systems can be protected from use as privileged information in criminal proceedings.
The case is also compared to a prior Manhattan ruling in which the court allowed prosecutors to obtain communications with Anthropic’s Claude, and such exchanges were not protected by attorney-client privilege.
Case details: United States v. Richard Kim, Southern District of New York, No. 1:25-cr-00359-LGS. For the United States: Michael DiBattista and Ryan Nees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
This case adds to discussions about the bounds of privileged protection and the use of data from AI platforms in investigative actions, as well as potential legal implications for future criminal proceedings involving interactions with chatbots.
In legal practice, there is a growing need to clearly define which data from AI services can be preserved as privileged and which cannot. The proceedings in United States v. Richard Kim continue, and court decisions in similar cases are shaping precedents for future searches and the use of data from AI platforms.
Official parties: for the United States, Michael DiBattista and Ryan Nees; both sides maintain their positions regarding further developments in the case.
