A former OpenAI engineer is facing federal charges after authorities allege he planted a covert listening device in a high stakes conference room at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national, was caught on hidden camera checking a recording device he had tucked into a USB port behind a television. Prosecutors say the specific room chosen for the bugging operation was frequently used by top executives for sensitive internal leadership meetings and classified briefings with government officials and corporate partners.
According to a detention memo filed by the Justice Department, Alfozan had been in frequent contact via WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi royal family throughout 2025 and 2026. The messages reveal an active recruitment effort, with the royal family member urging Alfozan to join an AI initiative in Saudi Arabia, telling him that his home country needed him more than the United States did. While Alfozan reportedly expressed agreement, investigators claim he delayed his departure from OpenAI specifically to wait for his stock options to vest.
The plot came to light just as Alfozan appeared to be making plans for a permanent exit from the U.S. Federal agents discovered a note titled Riyadh tasks detailing arrangements for his wife’s employment and housing in Saudi Arabia. He had booked a one way flight for himself and his family under the guise of taking parental leave on October 12. However, law enforcement intervened shortly before takeoff. In a striking detail provided by prosecutors, a Saudi military official allegedly stepped in after the arrest to pay for business class tickets to fly Alfozan’s wife and son out of the country immediately.
OpenAI confirmed it fired Alfozan after identifying him as the culprit and coordinating with the FBI. While the Justice Department warned that this breach poses a potential danger to national security, OpenAI stated there is currently no evidence that any proprietary source code, model weights, or customer data were stolen during the incident. Alfozan remains in custody as he awaits further legal proceedings in San Francisco federal court.
