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Former OpenAI Engineer Held Over Bugging Case With Saudi Ties
· Confirmed
In Short: Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer, was arrested after he allegedly planted a recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office.
Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer, was arrested after he allegedly planted a recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office.
Prosecutors claim that Alfozan used customized, encrypted recording devices to secretly record highly sensitive meetings involving senior OpenAI personnel and executives, high-level business counterparts, and government officials.
According to the court document, a Saudi military official paid for a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan’s wife and young son to return to Saudi Arabia after his arrest.
Alfozan reportedly replied, “100,” in messages cited by prosecutors, indicating his agreement with a plan.
The engineer had booked a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia days before his arrest, and his wife and son left the country shortly after his arrest.
Alfozan's lawyer claims the trip was planned for paternity leave and that he was pursuing U.S. citizenship, but prosecutors argue he has resources and foreign support, noting Saudi Arabia has no extradition treaty with the U.S.
A federal judge on Monday ordered Alfozan to stay in jail, questioning whether a $1 million bond offered by the Saudi government would ensure his return if he fled.
The Saudi national earned an annual paycheck of $385,000 at OpenAI and received a $2.2 million equity grant when he first joined the company in July 2025.
Alfozan had been fired from his job at OpenAI and was communicating with Saudi royalty and searching company records involving the Kingdom before his arrest.
OpenAI security personnel found the device on September 30, with the recording device plugged into the back of a TV in a conference meeting room and covered up with toilet paper.
The suspect allegedly planted a covert recording device: a camera-and-microphone gadget sold online for $13.99, which was reportedly discovered plugged into a TV’s USB port.
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What this adds
The court filing reveals that Alfozan had booked a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia days before his arrest, and his wife and son left the country shortly after his arrest.
The Saudi government's support for Alfozan is a significant factor in the decision to deny him bail.
Background
Federal prosecutors allege that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, planted a recording device in an executive conference room at OpenAI's San Francisco office.
A former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room faces detention after prosecutors alleged he had significant support from the Saudi government.
What's confirmed
- Federal prosecutors allege that the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in frequent communication with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family and that a Saudi military official paid for a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan’s wife and young son to return to Saudi Arabia after his arrest, according to the court document, made public late on Sunday.
- Prosecutors argue Alfozan has resources and foreign support, noting Saudi Arabia has no extradition treaty with the U.S. Alfozan's lawyers claim the trip was planned for paternity leave and that he was pursuing U.S. citizenship.
- Prosecutors revealed in a detention filing Sunday that Saudi government officials helped arrange international travel for Alfozan's wife and his three-month-old son shortly after he was arrested.
- Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, was also fired from his job at the creator of ChatGPT, according to a government memo filed on Sunday.
- Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press Philip Marcelo, Associated Press Philip Marcelo, Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former OpenAI engineer charged with secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to glean company details had been "mere days" away from absconding to Saudi Arabia before his arrest, federal prosecutors said in new court filings.
- The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- His wife and young son left the country the day after his arrest on a one-way ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official, prosecutors said in the filing.
- Report us Related Topics OpenAI Saudi Arabia A former OpenAI engineer accused of secretly planting a recording device inside the company's San Francisco headquarters maintained frequent contact with a member of the Saudi royal family and appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, according to a court filing reported by CNBC on Monday.
- "Ultimately, the defendant has little incentive to remain in the United States to see this case through," the prosecutors argued.
What's still developing
- He said meeting Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then deputy crown prince, during a 2016 gathering with young Saudi tech workers in Silicon Valley persuaded him to learn at a top tech company before bringing those skills back home.
- While Alfozan was working at Facebook, he and other Saudis in Silicon Valley formed a consulting initiative that linked Saudi public- and private-sector organisations with expertise in big data, the internet of things and machine learning.
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- The Department of Justice identified the employee as a Saudi Arabian national, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35.
- His naturalization application lists 25 trips abroad between 2020 and 2025, 20 of which included Saudi Arabia, and he returned from every one, according to the defense.
- "may result in additional serious charges."
- Following the arrest, the document claims the defendant's wife told FBI agents who interviewed her that "her US visa was expiring" and so she and her son were "permanently moving back to Saudi Arabia", and her husband intended to do the same.
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- Prosecutors argued that Alfozan's alleged conduct could pose "a danger to the national security of the United States," and they sought to keep him held without bail at a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
- Hunt discusses the alleged security breach, how the device was discovered and OpenAI’s response to the incident.