Sam Altman, now 40, and his family have said his sister has mental health challenges [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
A U.S. federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by Sam Altman’s sister accusing the billionaire OpenAI chief executive of sexually abusing her more than two decades ago, but said she can try suing under a different legal theory.
The judge also said Sam Altman, who has denied his sister’s accusations, may countersue his sister for defamation.
U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone in St. Louis said the woman cannot pursue sexual assault and sexual battery claims over her brother’s alleged abuse between 1997 and 2006, because those claims expired in 2008. He said she will be allowed to file an amended complaint stating a claim under Missouri’s Childhood Sexual Abuse statute.
Sam Altman’s defamation counterclaim stemmed from posts between 2021 and 2024 on social media, including X and TikTok, where his sister referred to alleged abuse, usually without mentioning his name.
Bluestone said such statements “require only a reasonable inference” that Sam Altman was the accused perpetrator, and that he can try to prove defamation by showing his sister acted with actual malice.
Ryan Mahoney, a lawyer for the woman, said she will promptly file an amended complaint and continue gathering evidence. A lawyer for Sam Altman declined to comment. The woman sued her brother in January 2025 over alleged abuse at the family home in suburban Clayton, Missouri, beginning when she was three and her brother was 12.
Sam Altman, now 40, and his family have said his sister has mental health challenges.
In a court filing, he said his family is “deliberate and thoughtful” in helping their sister, including through monthly financial support, but the lawsuit amounted to extortion.
Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI and became a face of the artificial intelligence boom following the 2022 release of the AI chatbot ChatGPT. Another co-founder, Elon Musk, is suing over OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit company and seeking as much as $134.5 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its backers. Jury selection is scheduled for April 27.
Sam Altman is worth $3.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Published – March 23, 2026 09:37 am IST
