Pokémon Company International Hit with Class Action Lawsuit After Former Director's Arrest Over Hidden Bathroom Cameras

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The Pokémon Company International faces a proposed class action lawsuit after the arrest of a former high-ranking employee accused of installing hidden cameras in a bathroom at the company’s Bellevue, Washington, location.

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The 11-page lawsuit claims that Ben Tsai, 45, who worked for Pokémon in a supervisory role as director of engineering, illegally placed hidden cameras in the defendant’s restroom to record individuals, including children, employees and members of the public, in “various states of undress.” According to the class action suit, the recordings were made and kept by Tsai for “his sexual gratification, and/or commercial exploitation through distribution of the videos.”

Per media reports, Tsai, who the case says worked for Pokémon from 2017 to 2026, was charged in January 2026 with first-degree voyeurism after he allegedly hid a recording device aimed toward the toilet in a Starbucks unisex bathroom in Kirkland, Washington. During the investigation, Tsai admitted to placing cameras in a Starbucks store, a Safeway, the Bellevue Pokémon office, and his own home, claiming that he was “curious about transgender people,” according to authorities.

The class action lawsuit accuses Pokémon Company International, a brand-management subsidiary of The Pokémon Company, of failing to take reasonable efforts to control Tsai, or to otherwise protect proposed class members from “a known risk of harm,” and to respond to “indicators of [Tsai’s] illicit activities.”

“The voyeurism and resultant damages were the result of Defendant’s failure to control Tsai and to otherwise protect Plaintiffs from his predatory behavior,” the lawsuit charges.

The case says Pokémon knew or should have known of the risk of voyeurism in its restrooms, particularly because the Bellevue office hosts events where members of the public, specifically children, were invited and encouraged to attend.

“Law enforcement has determined that Tsai transmitted at least 200 messages, many of which contained child sexual abuse material,” the lawsuit states.

Tsai is further accused of distributing such images and videos commercially, and investigators reportedly found that the messaging app Tsai used to send the child sexual abuse material (CSAM) contained 680 videos that included both adult nudity and CSAM, the complaint says.

The lawsuit says that Tsai used recording devices to specifically target women and girls, which are considered protected classes under the Washington Law Against Discrimination.

In a January 9 filing, prosecutors for King County, Washington, stated that “[t]he defendant’s ongoing pattern of voyeuristic conduct, extending over a period of about 9 years, combined with his willingness to target specific marginalized groups and his own children, demonstrates that he is an ongoing safety threat to the community.”

According to media reports, Tsai was arrested again following a subsequent investigation by the Kirkland Police and faces four new charges, in addition to the initial first-degree voyeurism charge.

The additional charges came after Kirkland Police completed months of forensic work and reportedly found more than 100 videos from a bathroom in Tsai’s home.

The Pokémon Company International class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals, including employees and members of the public, who used the bathroom facilities at Pokémon Company’s Bellevue location from 2017 through the present.

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