Pokemon sued after former exec arrested for filming people with hidden cameras in bathrooms

The Pokemon Company International is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit after a former executive was accused of secretly filming women and children inside company bathrooms.

A former employee who filed the lawsuit as Jane Doe claims Pokemon failed to protect workers and visitors at its Bellevue, Washington office from Ben Tsai, the company’s former director of engineering.

According to TMZ, Doe worked for Pokemon for five years and is seeking to represent anyone who used its office bathrooms between 2017 and July 25, 2026.

The lawsuit alleges the company failed to properly supervise Tsai or respond to warning signs surrounding his alleged conduct.

The Pokemon Company

Police found hundreds of secret recordings from Pokemon office

Tsai first came under investigation after a manager found a small camera hidden beneath a sink and pointed at the toilet inside a Kirkland Starbucks in October 2025.

Investigators reportedly traced the device to Tsai through security footage and information connected to a $7.89 credit card purchase.

According to The Seattle Times, Tsai allegedly told police he had secretly filmed people “no more than fifty times” since 2017. He reportedly admitted placing cameras at his workplace, his home and two retail locations.

Tsai reportedly told detectives he was “mainly curious about transgender people” and acknowledged that transgender employees worked at the Pokémon office where he allegedly hid a camera.

A forensic review of devices seized from Tsai’s home reportedly uncovered hundreds of hidden-camera recordings. Investigators found 89 videos allegedly filmed in Pokemon office bathrooms inside folders labeled “Pokémon 29” and “Pokémon 27.”

Dexerto

Four people identified in the footage told police they had not consented to being recorded.

Tsai was arrested again in July and charged with first-degree voyeurism, along with three charges connected to child abuse material. He has pleaded not guilty.

His lawyer, Bradley G. Barshis, told Law360 that Tsai “has entered and will enter pleas of not guilty to all charges, meaning he is presumed innocent throughout these cases, and unless things should change, we have no further comment.”

Pokemon told TMZ: “Our focus remains on the well-being of our employees. We are unable to comment further on pending litigation.”

This is just the latest legal matter Pokemon has found itself in. The company has found itself in a losing legal battle against Palworld, alleging the rival game infringed multiple patents.

In another wild case, an Iowa man is suing Nintendo for $341K after he was denied “Pokemon Professor” status following a background check.