OpenAI bugging suspect booked one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia with family before arrest
"Like countless Americans, Mr. Alfozan came to this country years ago as a young person with a dream," his criminal defense lawyer said Wednesday.
Key points
- Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, is charged with planting a recording device in an OpenAI conference room.
- Prosecutors said he booked a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia before his Oct. 9 arrest.
- OpenAI fired him and said there is no sign he accessed model weights or customer data.
A Saudi national charged with secretly installing a recording device in an executive conference room at OpenAI had booked a one-way ticket from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia for Oct. 12, federal prosecutors said in a newly unsealed court filing. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was arrested Oct. 9 after a judge granted a request to seal the criminal complaint and arrest warrant.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco said in the Oct. 8 filing that Alfozan had the means and incentive to flee if he learned of the case before his arrest. The tickets were booked for him, his wife and a third family member, traveling via Istanbul.
What the complaint alleges
The complaint says OpenAI staff found a hidden audio recording device in a USB port on the back of a television in a conference room on Sept. 30. The device, which had a detachable camera sensor, digital microphone and microSD storage, was concealed in toilet paper, according to the complaint.
The room is reserved only by executives and executive assistants and is used for confidential technical, commercial and strategic discussions, the complaint said. Closed-circuit TV footage showed Alfozan near the room on multiple days in September, and a camera later placed in the room recorded him entering on Oct. 5 and checking behind the television, the complaint alleges.
At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data.
— OpenAI
Suspect's role and response
Alfozan, a venture partner at the Saudi venture capital firm Raed Ventures, had worked at OpenAI since July 2025, according to the Department of Justice. OpenAI said it terminated him this month and that it has no indications he inappropriately accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code or customer data.
His attorney, William Pernik, said the charging documents have just been unsealed and that the allegations appear wholly out of character. Pernik said Alfozan is charged with violating a federal recording statute, not stealing trade secrets or working as a foreign agent. Alfozan is being detained pending an Oct. 19 detention hearing and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
