Former Pokemon Executive Accused of Hiding Cameras in Office Bathrooms, Filming Employees

A former Pokémon Company executive is being sued over claims that he secretly recorded people inside bathrooms at the company’s Bellevue offices.

The Seattle Times reported on Monday, August 3, that Ben Tsai, 45, the former director of engineering at The Pokémon Company International, is named in a lawsuit filed last week in King County Superior Court by an anonymous plaintiff.

The suit alleges Tsai placed hidden cameras to record employees, members of the public, and children in various states of undress while using the restroom.

As per the outlet, Tsai has not worked for the company since January. “Our focus remains on the well-being of our employees,” the spokesperson told the outlet.

Tsai was first charged with first-degree voyeurism in January after allegedly placing a hidden camera in a Starbucks bathroom in Kirkland, King5 reported in July.

He has since faced additional charges of possessing and dealing sexually explicit material involving minors, after investigators uncovered hundreds of videos on his devices, some allegedly recorded at the Pokémon offices, a Starbucks, a Safeway and his home, according to a report in Kiro7.

Tsai’s attorney, Bradley Barshis, told the Seattle Times, “My client has entered and will enter pleas of not guilty to all charges.”

The civil suit is seeking class-action status on behalf of women and girls who used the Bellevue office restrooms between 2017 and July 25 of this year.

Attorney Alex Dietz, who represents the plaintiff, said the July 25 cutoff was chosen to cover any window in which Tsai may have still had access to the building, as per the outlet.

Dietz said the company needs “to take steps to protect kids from these known risks.”

The suit also accuses Pokémon of negligence for failing to properly train or monitor Tsai. Tsai is being held at the Maleng Regional Justice Center on $500,000 bail.