Crimeupdated 1h ago3 min read
Prosecutors Accuse Abdulrahman Alfozan Of Planting Recording Device At OpenAI San Francisco
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Ex-OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly planted a recording device in an OpenAI meeting room. Prosecutors say he had considerable Saudi government backing and contact with a royal family member.
Alleged OpenAI bugging
Federal prosecutors accused Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer and former OpenAI worker, of secretly planting a recording device in an executive conference room in OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters.
OpenAI security personnel found the device on 30 September, with the recording device plugged into the back of a TV in a conference meeting room and covered up with toilet paper, and a camera was placed in the room.
Prosecutors said Alfozan was filmed entering and appearing to look behind the television on 5 October, and the FBI arrested him on 9 October after OpenAI terminated his contract.
Prosecutors argued that Alfozan's alleged conduct could pose "a danger to the national security of the United States," and they sought to keep him held without bail at a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
BBC reported that the court filing said Alfozan was scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco later on Monday and that, if convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 (£188,000) fine.
Saudi links and flight risk
Prosecutors told the court that Alfozan was in "frequent communications... with a member of the Saudi royal family" and that the communications continued as recently as Oct. 5, four days before his arrest.
The court filing described the Saudi royal family member as trying to recruit Alfozan for an artificial intelligence initiative in Saudi Arabia, and prosecutors said the royal member told him, "Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!"
Prosecutors also argued that a member of the Saudi military paid for a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia for Alfozan's wife and son after his arrest, and they cited the travel as part of their case that Alfozan posed a flight risk.
BBC reported that Alfozan's wife told FBI agents that her US visa was expiring and that she and her son were "permanently moving back to Saudi Arabia," while the document said her husband intended to do the same.
CNBC reported that prosecutors asked a judge to keep Alfozan held without bail in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Monday morning local time.
What happens next
Alfozan's lawyer, William Pernik, asked for release with home detention and GPS monitoring, and he sought a bond co-signed by others supported by the written undertaking of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Prosecutors argued that Alfozan had "ample resources" and "considerable support from a foreign government" that has no extradition treaty with the United States, and they urged the court to order detention pending trial.
BBC reported that the Saudi government did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment, while the FBI investigation is ongoing and Alfozan is scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco later on Monday.
CNBC said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California was asking a judge to keep Alfozan held without bail, and it tied the request to his access, his ties to Saudi Arabia, and the flight of his wife and their 3-month-old baby.
Fox News said prosecutors warned that Alfozan's conduct "could pose a danger to the national security of the United States," and it described investigators as examining whether the alleged surveillance aimed to benefit a foreign government, his own business interests, or both.