Prosecutors call Saudi suspect and ex-OpenAI worker Abdulrahman Alfozan 'an ongoing danger'
US prosecutors said on Monday that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi citizen accused of hiding a recording device at OpenAI's headquarters, “presents an ongoing danger” and should remain in custody.
In a court filing, the US Justice Department responded to a request from Mr Alfozan's lawyer in California to release him while the investigation continues. The case is expected to lead to a criminal trial.
“The defendant presents an ongoing danger to the community and a serious risk of flight that no set of release conditions can reasonably mitigate,” Craig Missakian, a lawyer for the US Justice Department, wrote.
In a memo explaining why Mr Alfozan should remain in custody, the department said that “a member of the Saudi military booked and paid for” a flight for Mr Alfozan's wife and son several days after his arrest.
“The day before she left the US, the defendant’s wife told the FBI agents who interviewed her that her US visa was expiring and that she and her son were permanently moving back to Saudi Arabia – and that her husband, the defendant, eventually intended to do the same,” US prosecutors wrote.
Mr Alfozan, a Saudi citizen and former OpenAI employee, was arrested on October 8. He is accused of hiding a recording device in the company's offices in San Francisco.
Investigators said last week that Mr Alfozan placed the device, a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 made by a company in China, behind a television in a conference room.
The Justice Department said the device was a “thumb-sized development board with a detachable camera sensor, digital microphone and micro-SD storage”.
Mr Alfozan began working on OpenAI's product team in July last year. The company said it fired him on the day he was arrested.
According to the first criminal complaint filed by prosecutors, Mr Alfozan's actions suggested that he planned to leave the US quickly.
“Indeed, the defendant, his wife and a third family member have booked one-way tickets from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia (via Istanbul) … and defendant has the means and the incentive to flee the US sooner if he learns about this case before he is arrested,” the first filing said.
Last week, California lawyer William Pernik told The National that he was still waiting to see what other evidence the government had against his client. He said he planned to present all appropriate defences in court.
“Like countless Americans, Mr Alfozan came to this country years ago as a young person with a dream,” Mr Pernik said in an email. “These allegations appear wholly out of character for him, and we will relentlessly investigate all evidence produced by the government in this case to understand what actually happened, who was responsible and any possible reasons why.”
On Friday, Mr Pernik asked the court to release Mr Alfozan from custody under conditions that he wear a GPS ankle monitor, stay at his home in Millbrae, California, and hand over his passport.
The request also proposed an “appearance bond” signed by people who would guarantee his appearance in court from his Bay Area community, along with a written promise of support from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan?
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Alfozan has lived in California since 2015 and began working at OpenAI as a lead engineer in 2025. Before moving to California, he worked as an intern at Meta, Microsoft and SAP.
Mr Alfozan earned his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016. He then earned a master's degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 2025.
The Justice Department said he was arrested on October 9 and charged with using an electronic, mechanical or other device to secretly record spoken conversations. He is due to appear in court for a hearing on whether he should remain in custody on the 19th.
“If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, followed by three years of supervised release,” a Justice Department press release said.
OpenAI has faced strong criticism from employees over claims that it has ignored the need for rules when developing AI technology. US AI companies such as OpenAI also face strong competition from China as Washington and Beijing compete to lead the technology race. Companies have taken major steps to protect their intellectual property and trade secrets.