Ann Altman, the sister of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, filed a lawsuit on Monday, accusing her brother of repeatedly sexually abusing her between 1997 and 2006. The lawsuit, submitted to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, claims the abuse occurred at their family home in Clayton, Missouri, CNBC reported. The abuse allegedly started when he was 12 years old and she was 3 years old and continued until Ann was 11 years old and Altman was an adult. The filing claims that the abusive activities took place “several times per week,” beginning with oral sex and later involving penetration. Ann said that abuse caused her “severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and depression,” effects that she claims persist to this day.
Reacting to the allegations, Sam Altman shared a family statement on X on January 7, which was reportedly co-authored with his mother, Connie, and brothers, Max and Jack. The statement expressed concern for Ann’s well-being, suggesting that her accusations may be related to her mental health challenges.
“Our family loves Annie and is very concerned about her well-being. Caring for a family member who faces mental health challenges is incredibly difficult. We know many families facing similar struggles understand this well,” reads the opening lines of the statement.
Altman’s statement also highlighted the family’s efforts to support Ann over the years, including financial assistance with her bills, rent, medical expenses, job opportunities, and even offering to buy her a house. The family said Annie has continued to demand more money and made several “deeply hurtful” statements over the years that are “utterly untrue.”
Here’s the full statement:
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
“Despite this, Annie continues to demand more money from us. In this vein, Annie has made deeply hurtful and entirely untrue claims about our family, especially Sam. We’ve chosen not to respond publicly, out of respect for her privacy and our own. However, she has now taken legal action against Sam, and we feel we have no choice but to address this,” the statement further reads.
“The worst allegation she has made is that she was sexually abused by Sam as a child (she has also claimed instances of sexual abuse from others). Her claims have evolved drastically over time. Newly for this lawsuit, they now include allegations of incidents where Sam was over 18,” it states.
Ann Altman has previously made public allegations of sexual assault against her brother. However, this is the first time that she is taking legal action. The lawsuit is seeking a jury trial and damages exceeding $75,000.
Sam Altman is a well-known entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley. He gained international recognition following the huge success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, which was released in late 2022 and triggered widespread interest in artificial intelligence.
