Ex-OpenAI Engineer Denied Bail Over Alleged Boardroom Bugging
(MENAFN) A federal magistrate judge on Monday ordered former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan jailed until trial, siding with prosecutors who say he planted a listening device in an executive boardroom while keeping close ties to Saudi Arabia.
US Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse denied bail after California federal prosecutors argued that Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national and lawful US permanent resident, is a flight risk. Government lawyers said he has “what appears to be considerable support from a foreign government” and noted that the country has no extradition treaty with Washington.
Court filings describe a steady stream of messages through 2025 and 2026 between Alfozan and an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family. According to prosecutors, that person recruited him for a national artificial intelligence project and told him the kingdom needed him more than America did.
Prosecutors also detailed a rapid exit by his family after his Oct. 9 arrest. The Saudi government first arranged and paid for a one-way flight for his wife and infant son, the filings say. When that plan collapsed, a member of the Saudi military bought business-class tickets to Doha, Qatar, and both relatives left the United States within 36 hours of the arrest.
“Whether the defendant wanted to record OpenAI meetings to enrich himself by enhancing his own business prospects, or to provide aid (to) a foreign government, or both, his conduct is criminal and it presents a danger to innovation in the Silicon Valley and a concern for the national security of the United States,” prosecutors argued in court filings.
Saudi authorities have not responded publicly to the Justice Department’s allegations.
US Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse denied bail after California federal prosecutors argued that Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national and lawful US permanent resident, is a flight risk. Government lawyers said he has “what appears to be considerable support from a foreign government” and noted that the country has no extradition treaty with Washington.
Court filings describe a steady stream of messages through 2025 and 2026 between Alfozan and an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family. According to prosecutors, that person recruited him for a national artificial intelligence project and told him the kingdom needed him more than America did.
Prosecutors also detailed a rapid exit by his family after his Oct. 9 arrest. The Saudi government first arranged and paid for a one-way flight for his wife and infant son, the filings say. When that plan collapsed, a member of the Saudi military bought business-class tickets to Doha, Qatar, and both relatives left the United States within 36 hours of the arrest.
“Whether the defendant wanted to record OpenAI meetings to enrich himself by enhancing his own business prospects, or to provide aid (to) a foreign government, or both, his conduct is criminal and it presents a danger to innovation in the Silicon Valley and a concern for the national security of the United States,” prosecutors argued in court filings.
Saudi authorities have not responded publicly to the Justice Department’s allegations.
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