OpenAI Engineer Accused of Spying on Executives Ordered to Remain in Custody

The former OpenAI engineer accused of placing a hidden listening device in a company conference room must stay in custody while he waits for trial. A federal judge made this decision on Monday after raising concerns about his connections to Saudi Arabia.

US prosecutors said Abdulrahman Alfozan might run away because the Saudi Arabian government had offered to help him without asking for anything in return. As an example, they pointed to an offer from the Saudi consulate to work with a bail bonds company to help pay for Alfozan's release.

Federal magistrate judge Alex Tse questioned whether Alfozan was an “asset,” or someone useful, to the Saudi government. He also questioned whether a bond backed by the government would ensure that Alfozan stayed in the country. “I find that problematic,” Tse said. “It seems like a blank check. ‘We’re going to pay whatever the court wants to get him out.’ I’m more interested in people from his family wanting to put up assets.”

William Pernik, Alfozan's lawyer, said the concerns that his client might run away had no basis. But he could not convince the judge that Alfozan was committed to staying in the United States. “There is a real threat here that once he leaves the case is over,” Tse said.

On Monday, Alfozan appeared in Tse's San Francisco courtroom wearing an orange prison uniform and a medical face mask pulled down around his neck. The courtroom was full of journalists, students on a field trip, and about 20 people who came to support him.

Attempts by employees to steal private company information are common in Silicon Valley. But Alfozan's case has attracted attention around the world because of the alleged amateur spying and the political tensions involved. Authorities have not given a possible reason for his actions. However, they have noted that Alfozan worked for a Saudi venture capital firm, advised Saudi companies, and was reportedly friendly with senior members of the Saudi government.

Pernik said there was no evidence that Alfozan had spied for Saudi Arabia or taken part in secret activities. “It’s not as if he sneaked in under the covers of darkness,” he said about the OpenAI conference room. “This was an open room where anybody could work in.”

After the one-hour hearing, Pernik told reporters he was disappointed by the decision to keep Alfozan in custody and would continue to challenge it.

Alfozan is a permanent US resident who had been working toward becoming a US citizen. But officials have closely examined his connections to his home country, Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors say Alfozan was “in frequent communications via WhatsApp” with a member of the Saudi royal family throughout 2025 and 2026.

According to a court filing, the unnamed Saudi royal was allegedly trying to persuade Alfozan to return to Saudi Arabia to work on a planned AI project. “Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!” the person wrote to Alfozan in May, according to the filing. Alfozan allegedly replied “100,” suggesting that he agreed.

US authorities also say the Saudi government bought a ticket for Alfozan's wife and baby son to return to Saudi Arabia a few days after his arrest. Lawyers for both sides said she eventually left earlier on another flight booked by her sister's husband, who works for the Saudi navy.

Alfozan's wife has not been accused of doing anything wrong. Last week, the FBI declined to comment on whether she might face charges.

Alfozan had worked at OpenAI for just over a year when the AI company found a hidden audio recorder behind a TV in an executive conference room used for private business meetings. The device was hidden inside a wad of toilet paper. OpenAI found it in late September, linked it to Alfozan, and fired him earlier this month, shortly before the FBI arrested him.

Alfozan could face five years in prison for one charge of using a device to secretly record communications. Prosecutors say more charges may follow. The evidence they have presented includes alleged conversations between Alfozan and an AI chatbot in which he asked for help setting up listening devices. Prosecutors also showed a photo of Alfozan looking behind the TV after OpenAI had removed the recorder. Authorities say they do not know whether anything was recorded because the device's data was encrypted, meaning it was stored in a protected form.

Authorities say they also found parts for recording devices at Alfozan's home. They found photos of other OpenAI monitors and another conference room on his phone. OpenAI previously said it found a second listening device in a bag Alfozan had brought to the office and left unattended.

Pernik said the electronic equipment found at Alfozan's home was for projects to monitor things around the house, including an effort to improve a smart litter box for their cat. “This is a gentleman who spent 15 years of life immersed at this intersection of technology and personal life,” Pernik told the judge.

Before the hearing, authorities said they believed Alfozan had enough money and resources to run away. They pointed to his $385,000 salary and $2.2 million profit-sharing package at OpenAI, as well as money he earned from earlier jobs at Meta and other US technology companies.

According to Alfozan's lawyers, his wife needed to leave the United States to renew her American student visa. Alfozan had planned to travel with her before his arrest. They had a one-way ticket to Riyadh. His lawyers said this was normal for him because he sometimes had to return to work earlier than planned.

According to Alfozan's lawyers, his wife needed to leave the United States to renew her American student visa. Alfozan had planned to travel with her before his arrest. They had a one-way ticket to Riyadh. His lawyers said this was normal for him because he sometimes had to return to work earlier than planned.

Nas Yasin, another lawyer for Alfozan, said his wife's sister's husband booked her flight as a private individual, not on behalf of the Saudi government. Yasin added that Alfozan's wife had recently received a US visitor visa and planned to return to California from Saudi Arabia as soon as Tuesday. Alfozan's next court date is scheduled for November 6.