Annie Altman amended her civil lawsuit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, renewing allegations that her brother, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, sexually abused and raped her at their family home in suburban Clayton, Missouri, on multiple occasions between 1997 and 2006. The filing came after a federal judge indicated that certain claims could move forward under Missouri's child sexual abuse statute.
In her amended complaint, Annie Altman says the abuse began when she was three years old and her brother was 12. Sam Altman, now 40, has denied the allegations and has filed a countersuit accusing his sister of defamation. Attorneys for Sam Altman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On March 20, U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone ruled that standalone legal claims for sexual assault and sexual battery had expired in 2008. However, Judge Bluestone concluded that Missouri law permits some accusers to bring claims stemming from alleged childhood sexual abuse even when the events occurred many years earlier, creating a potential legal path for parts of Annie Altman's case.
Sam Altman's defamation action arises from social media posts made by his sister that referenced the alleged abuse. Among those posts was a video in which she said "an almost tech billionaire" had molested her; the video and other public statements are the basis for his countersuit.
The Altman family has told the court that Annie Altman has experienced mental health challenges. In a filing, Sam Altman said his family has been supporting her, including with financial assistance, and described her lawsuit as an act of extortion.
Sam Altman is a co-founder of OpenAI and became a prominent public figure following the release of the ChatGPT AI chatbot in 2022. Forbes has estimated his net worth at $3.3 billion. The amended complaint and the judge's prior ruling set the stage for further legal proceedings in federal court in St. Louis.
The lawsuit and counterclaims establish the immediate legal posture: an accuser seeking to press long‑ago allegations under a Missouri statute intended to accommodate some childhood sexual-abuse claims, and a high-profile defendant denying the allegations while pursuing a defamation claim tied to his sister's public statements. Additional filings and court rulings will determine which claims proceed.
Legal developments to watch - How the court applies Missouri's child sexual abuse statute to the facts alleged; the progress and scope of Sam Altman's defamation counterclaim; and any further factual or medical assertions presented by either side.