The sister of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman has accused him in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing and raping her when they were both children.
According to Annie Altman‘s complaint, the alleged abuse at their family home in Clayton, Missouri, began in 1997, when Annie was three and her brother was 12. It allegedly continued until 2006.
Sam, 40, has denied the claim and has countersued for defamation over public comments and social media posts.
In March, US district judge Zachary Bluestone said Annie’s sexual assault and sexual battery claims expired in 2008 due to the statute of limitations, but said that she could try to file a case under Missouri’s child sexual abuse statute which offers extended time limits.
This week, Annie filed an amended complaint in St. Louis federal court.
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Sam Altman’s defence against Annie Altman
In a statement posted to X in January 2025 (below), Sam, his mother and two brothers stated that Annie has “mental health challenges” and “refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help”.
He has denied all allegations, describing them as “utterly untrue” and claimed the lawsuit is “extortion”.
The statement reads in part:
“Our family loves Annie and is very concerned about her wellbeing. Caring for a family member who faces mental health challenges is incredibly difficult.”
Sam adds that the family has tried to support Annie in many ways for years, but claims they are only now speaking out because of the legal action – which they assert is motivated by money.
“The worst allegation that she’s made is that she was sexually abused by Sam as a child… her claims have evolved drastically over time.
“Newly for this lawsuit, they now include allegations of incidents where Sam was over 18.”
My sister has filed a lawsuit against me. Here is a statement from my mom, brothers, and me: pic.twitter.com/Nve0yokTSX
— Sam Altman (@sama) January 7, 2025
Scrutiny of Sam Altman’s credibility
There is no doubt that Sam Altman is an incredibly powerful man. A co-founder of OpenAI, the company behind AI chatbot ChatGPT, Sam is worth billions – Forbes says $US3.3b – thus naturally attracts attention for how his wealth was created.
Sam has this week been deeply scrutinised by a number of international media outlets, most notably in a video and essay by Ronan Farrow.
In terms of the court case with his sister, the timing is not ideal for Sam – but does not mean any allegations are true until legally proven.
Farrow has accused the CEO of dishonesty in business dealings on multiple occasions, and has in general questioned his integrity in business.
(🧵1/11) For the past year and a half, I’ve been investigating OpenAI and Sam Altman for @NewYorker. With my coauthor @andrewmarantz, I reviewed never-before-disclosed internal memos, obtained 200+ pages of documents related to a close colleague, including extensive private… pic.twitter.com/XdYhNIhoQ4
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) April 6, 2026
Farrow says: “OpenAI was founded on the premise that A.I. could be the most dangerous invention in human history—and that its C.E.O. would need to be a person of uncommon integrity.
“We lay out the most detailed account yet of why Altman was ousted out by board members and executives who came to believe he lacked that integrity, and ask: were they right to allege that he couldn’t be trusted?”
Sexual assault support lines:
• 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
• National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service: 1800 211 028
• Bravehearts, counselling and support for survivors of child sexual abuse: 1800 272 831
• Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491
• Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 131 114
• Victims of Crime Helpline: 1800 819 817
Top image: Annie Altman, Sam Altman. Image: X