Abstract:
According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi citizen Abdulrahman Alfozan was accused of installing eavesdropping equipment in a restricted-access conference room at OpenAI. He appeared in federal court in San Francisco on Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Alfzan was photographed checking eavesdropping equipment
On Friday, Alfzan attended an arraignment hearing before a U.S. federal magistrate judge. His attorney, David W. Rizk, said his client had pleaded not guilty to the only charge brought by prosecutors. The crime of intercepting oral communications carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Alfozan is currently in the custody of federal law enforcement and his next court appearance will be on November 17.
Alfzan is accused of wrapping a thumb-sized circuit board and microphone in toilet paper around September 28 this year and hiding them behind a wall-mounted TV in an executive conference room in the OpenAI office. At that time, he was about to leave the United States.
He had served on the OpenAI product team since July 2025 until he was fired in October this year. He was also arrested and charged on the same day.
Prosecutors previously alleged that Alfzan had booked a one-way flight from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul on October 12 for himself, his wife, and their newborn son. Prosecutors said that shortly after Alfozan's arrest, his wife and son left the United States without him.
Prosecutors also said that the one-way tickets for his wife and children were initially paid for by the Saudi government, but the original flight was later cancelled. A Saudi military personnel later rebooked the pair on another one-way flight to Qatar, this time in business class, according to documents filed by prosecutors.
Alfozan's lawyer argued that the military personnel was his wife's brother-in-law and said she left because of visa issues. Alfozan's lawyer previously said she planned to return to the United States to support her husband.
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