The Pokémon Company Sued Over Alleged Secret Bathroom Cameras

The Pokémon Company International (TPCI) is facing a class action lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleges the company did not adequately protect its staff from a former director of engineering accused of installing secret cameras in office bathrooms. Ben Tsai, a former director of engineering at TPCI, was arrested in July 2026 on charges related to footage filmed within the company's Bellevue offices.

The lawsuit, as reported by The Seattle Times, contends that Tsai filmed women and children in "various stages of undress while they used the bathroom." The Pokémon Company International has not yet responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

Tsai was initially charged with first-degree voyeurism in January 2026 after a camera was discovered in a local Starbucks. Charging documents indicate that Tsai admitted to police that he had also placed cameras to observe family members and in grocery stores. Authorities reportedly found hundreds of videos depicting adult nudity and child sexual abuse, some of which Tsai allegedly recorded himself.

Tsai has told police that his interest was primarily in observing transgender individuals and that he was not attracted to children. Reports suggest Tsai claimed to have recorded footage fewer than 50 times since 2017, though authorities state they discovered 89 videos recorded from the Pokémon offices, with four identified subjects asserting they did not consent to being filmed.

Tsai is currently being held on $500,000 bail and, according to his legal representatives, intends to plead not guilty to all charges. Beyond the voyeurism charges, he faces accusations of first-degree possession and dealing of material depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct, as well as second-degree possession.

The class action lawsuit asserts that The Pokémon Company International failed in its duty to properly train Tsai and to make "reasonable efforts" to oversee his conduct and safeguard other employees. The suit also argues that Tsai's alleged actions violated Washington's anti-discrimination laws.