OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s sister filed a lawsuit Monday claiming he sexually abused her for years, starting when she was 3 years old and he was 12.
Ann Altman’s filing in federal court alleges the abuse took place “several times per week,” at the family home in Clayton, Missouri, and caused severe emotional distress, mental anguish and depression that has lasted throughout her life. The complaint claims the wrongdoing—which Sam Altman denies—took place between 1997 and 2006, with the last alleged misconduct taking place when he was an adult and his sister was still a minor.
The suit requests a jury trial and damages of more than $75,000, though it doesn’t specify an amount.
The filing comes several years after Ann Altman, now 30, claimed on social media that she had been abused by her brother.
Sam Altman, 39, denied the allegations in a statement on X Tuesday, writing: “All of these claims are utterly untrue. This situation causes immense pain to our entire family.”
The statement, which was co-signed by his mother and brothers, claimed that Annie faces “mental health challenges” and that the family has secretly struggled to help her for years.
“Over the years, we’ve tried in many ways to support Annie and help her find stability, following professional advice on how to be supportive without enabling harmful behaviors,” including paying her bills, the statement said. Annie also receives a monthly payment from her late father’s estate, the statement added.
“Despite this, Annie continues to demand more money from us,” the family wrote.
In response to a comment on the post, Sam Altman wrote that his sister’s lawyer plans to seek discovery on his net worth and will request punitive damages based on the amount.
Altman is also facing a suit from his OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, who now runs a competing start-up xAI. Musk has sued to prevent OpenAI from changing to a for-profit business model after originally launching as an open-source nonprofit.
