A former OpenAI engineer accused of installing a concealed recording device in an executive conference room was in contact with a Saudi royal and planned to leave the United States for Riyadh, federal prosecutors have alleged.
Abdulrahman Alfozan was arrested on October 9, three days before he was due to fly from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia with his wife and infant son. Prosecutors say he had been communicating with a member of the Saudi royal family, who encouraged him to join an artificial intelligence initiative in the kingdom.
Alfozan allegedly placed an audio recorder inside a USB port on the back of a television in an OpenAI conference room on September 28. The device remained there for at least several days, according to an 11-page court filing.
Prosecutors allege that he altered the equipment to prevent data passing between it and the television, and encrypted recordings stored on its microSD card.
In the days before the alleged installation, investigators say Alfozan used an AI chatbot account belonging to his wife to research how to build and modify recording equipment. Searches allegedly included continuous recording, saving compressed audio to an SD card, live listening, speech-triggered recording, browser controls and encryption.
The conference room was regularly used for discussions involving confidential technical, commercial and strategic information, including proprietary research, OpenAI’s progress and business relationships, prosecutors said. Government officials also met OpenAI executives in the room around the time the device was allegedly installed.
Investigators found photographs on Alfozan’s mobile phone showing at least one other concealed recorder and electronic equipment in other OpenAI meeting rooms. Prosecutors also said they recovered evidence suggesting he may have considered placing further devices in the company’s offices and planned to retrieve them before leaving his job.
The filing alleges that Alfozan remained in frequent WhatsApp contact with the Saudi royal throughout 2025 and 2026, including as recently as October 5. The royal allegedly told him that Saudi Arabia was launching an AI project and sought to recruit him.
“Saudi needs you more than [sic] the US!” the royal wrote, according to the filing. Prosecutors said Alfozan agreed to join the initiative but indicated that he would not leave OpenAI until his shares had vested.
Alfozan joined OpenAI in July 2025 on an annual salary of 385,000 dollars and received a 2.2 million-dollar equity grant, prosecutors said. The Saudi national had become a permanent resident of the US in September 2020 and later applied for citizenship.
His wife and three-month-old son left the country the day after his arrest on business-class tickets allegedly bought by a Saudi military official. Alfozan had been due to begin two months of parental leave in October.
OpenAI dismissed him after his arrest. At a detention hearing on Monday, a US magistrate judge rejected his lawyers’ request for release to home confinement.
The government argued that he should remain in custody pending trial, citing his wealth, connections and alleged assistance from Saudi officials as risks that he could flee. Alfozan, who has no previous criminal record according to the filing, is due back in court next month.
