Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device appears to have Saudi backing, US prosecutors say
Federal prosecutors say the former OpenAI engineer had frequent contact with a Saudi royal family member and could pose a flight risk.
- FBI agents arrested OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan this week, charging him with planting a hidden recording device in a San Francisco conference room, an incident that has fueled concerns about security at leading AI labs.
- OpenAI security personnel discovered a thumb-size device wrapped in toilet paper plugged behind a television in an executive conference room on September 30. Prosecutors allege a camera subsequently recorded Alfozan checking the device on October 5.
- Alfozan, a Saudi national hired by OpenAI in July 2025, previously advised Saudi organizations and served as a venture partner at RAED Ventures alongside Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud. He formerly worked as an engineer at Meta.
- His lawyer, William Pernik, said in an email that his client "poses no flight risk whatsoever," citing "long-standing ties to the community." Pernik stated Alfozan will contest the allegations at a hearing on Monday.
- Stanford University professor Amy Zegart noted that Silicon Valley remains "ground zero for espionage" from multiple countries, adding she was "troubled" by the incident. OpenAI said it maintains "a rigorous insider risk program" to protect intellectual property and customer data.
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Ex-OpenAI worker accused of bugging conference room planned to fly to
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
(San Francisco = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kwon Young-jeon = A Saudi Arabian national employee detained on charges of installing a wiretap in an OpenAI executive meeting room... Saudi royal family and military...
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A former OpenAI engineer accused of installing a recording device in a meeting room on the board of the artificial intelligence company seems to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, U.S. prosecutors said in a document presented to the Justice. Federal prosecutors claim that the accused, 35-year-old Abdulrahman Alfozan, had frequent contact with an unidentified member of the Saudi royal family and that a member of the cou…
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