Prosecutors say ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting recording device received 'what appears to be considerable support' from the Saudi government
Prosecutors say a former OpenAI employee accused of planting a recording device appears to have received support from the Saudi government.
A federal magistrate judge will hear arguments on Monday about whether Abdulrahman Alfozan should stay in custody.
Prosecutors say Alfozan often communicated with a member of the Saudi Royal Family.
Federal prosecutors say a former OpenAI employee accused of planting a recording device received "what appears to be considerable support from" the Saudi government.
Prosecutors made this claim in a request to keep Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi citizen and former OpenAI employee, in custody while he awaits trial.
Prosecutors said Alfozan was in contact as recently as October 5 with an unnamed member of the Saudi Royal Family. They said the two had often communicated on WhatsApp over the past two years.
"In May 2026, the individual told the defendant, 'Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!' to which the defendant responded '100,' indicating he agreed," prosecutors wrote.
The FBI arrested Alfozan on October 9. According to a criminal complaint, Alfozan placed a recording device behind a TV in an OpenAI conference room where sensitive discussions take place. Prosecutors said OpenAI's security cameras recorded Alfozan near the room several times, even though he did not have permission to attend the high-level meetings held there.
"In the days surrounding the time period that the device was installed, OpenAI executives met with government officials in that very room," prosecutors wrote in a court filing on Sunday. "Defendant's conduct could pose a danger to the national security of the United States."
The complaint included a photo that prosecutors said showed Alfozan looking behind the TV where the recording device was found.
Prosecutors also said an unnamed member of the Saudi military booked a flight for Alfozan's wife and son on October 11, even though they already had a reservation for a flight on October 12. Prosecutors said the Saudi government had paid for the original flight.
In a separate court filing, William Pernik, Alfozan's lawyer, said the former OpenAI engineer was not a flight risk.
"Mr. Alfozan was made aware of OpenAI finding the device per its own filings and OpenAI's public statements, approximately eight to ten days before he was arrested," Pernik wrote. "If his intention was to flee, he would have done so at that time."
Pernik said an earlier claim by prosecutors that Alfozan had bought a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia left out important context.
"Seventy percent of the airline bookings in his email since January 2021 (96 of 138) were one-way tickets," Pernik wrote.
Pernik said Alfozan would agree to several conditions to be released from custody. These included GPS monitoring, staying at home, handing over his passports, and not traveling outside Northern California. He would also agree to a bond "co-signed by members of his Bay Area community and backed by the written undertaking of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
US Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse is scheduled to hear arguments later on Monday about whether Alfozan should remain in custody.