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A US judge ordered the detention of Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer, after prosecutors said he was a flight risk. Alfozan, arrested October 9, is accused of planting hidden recording devices in an OpenAI San Francisco conference room and in a bag he left on-site, capturing conversations from late September into October before OpenAI fired him.
A federal judge in San Francisco denied home confinement to Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in a company conference room. Prosecutors said he was days from fleeing to Saudi Arabia and that his wife and child already left the U.S. on a one-way ticket paid for by a Saudi military official. His next court date is in November.
A federal magistrate judge ruled that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer accused of planting recording devices in a company conference room, must remain in custody until his trial. Prosecutors argued he poses a flight risk, citing an offer from the Saudi consulate to help fund his bail through a bonds firm. Alfozan's attorney countered that there is no evidence of espionage and called the flight-risk concerns unfounded.
Prosecutors have filed a detention request against Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI employee accused of planting a bugging device, arguing he poses a flight risk. The filing states that Alfozan had discussed potential jobs with a Saudi royal and that his wife and child have permanently relocated to Saudi Arabia.
The Justice Department announced charges against Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old former OpenAI employee from Saudi Arabia, after the company discovered a hidden recording device in a conference room at its San Francisco office. OpenAI says it used its own AI models to trace the device back to Alfozan, who had planted it days earlier, and the FBI arrested him on October 9.
OpenAI discovered a USB recording device wrapped in toilet paper and plugged into a TV in a restricted executive conference room where leadership discussed confidential matters. The FBI alleges the device was planted by Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer, and CCTV footage shows him later trying to retrieve it. He was arrested and fired on Friday, and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of unlawful recording charges.
According to a federal court complaint, Alfozan allegedly used an AI assistant to research meeting room schedules and queried a chatbot linked to his spouse about building and remotely accessing a recording device. CCTV reportedly placed him near a conference room used for confidential discussions on eight occasions in September, despite his having no authorization to be there. A hidden device was later found in that room.
The DOJ says Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, an OpenAI employee, hid a $14 Seeed Xiao ESP32-S3 Sense device behind a TV in an executive conference room around Sept. 28, concealing it with toilet paper. The device, which includes a microphone, camera sensor and microSD storage, was discovered days later, and Alfozan was reportedly seen checking on it on Oct. 5 before OpenAI security searched his belongings.
Federal prosecutors have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national who worked as an OpenAI engineer since July 2025, with planting a hidden recording device in an executive meeting room at the company's San Francisco office. OpenAI's security team discovered the encrypted device, built from a $13.99 Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 board, around September 30, and later found a second similar device along with Alfozan's wallet in a bag he left behind. He was arrested on October 9 and appeared in federal court on October 13 facing charges of attempting to intercept oral communications.
A Saudi national employed by OpenAI was arrested by the FBI after allegedly planting a recording device in a company conference room, according to CNBC. OpenAI said in a statement that it has found no evidence the employee improperly accessed or removed model weights, source code, or customer data.
Federal prosecutors allege that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer, hid an audio recording device wrapped in toilet paper behind a monitor in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office. He allegedly used internal AI chatbot tools to research the room's meeting schedule and to get technical guidance on building the covert device, and a second recording device was reportedly found in his bag. OpenAI fired Alfozan last Friday, and he faces a federal charge of illegally intercepting oral communications, which carries up to five years in prison.
Federal prosecutors have charged a Saudi national, said to be an OpenAI engineer, with concealing an encrypted audio recording device in toilet paper behind a television in a company conference room. The device was reportedly intended to covertly capture internal meetings.