Former OpenAI engineer accused of planting listening device in office
According to federal prosecutors, former engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, who is accused of planting a listening device in an OpenAI executive meeting room, was in contact with a member of the Saudi royal family and was preparing to leave the U.S.
Federal prosecutors announced that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer, placed a hidden listening device in the company's executive meeting room and was preparing to flee to Saudi Arabia at the time of his arrest.
According to court documents filed by federal prosecutors, former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan placed an advanced listening device in the company's executive conference room. Alfozan, a Saudi Arabian citizen, is accused of using artificial intelligence tools to develop encrypted recording devices and to identify executive meeting rooms within the company.
The prosecution filing revealed that Alfozan earned an annual salary of $385,000 at OpenAI and received a $2.2 million stock grant when he started working in July 2025. Investigators obtained evidence that the suspect planned to place additional devices in the offices.
According to information in the filing, Alfozan exchanged WhatsApp messages with an unnamed Saudi royal family member, who encouraged him to return to the country to join a Saudi artificial intelligence venture. Alfozan, who allegedly placed the recording device in a USB port behind a television in the executive conference room on September 28, was arrested on October 9, three days before his one-way flight to Riyadh with his wife and baby.
Sources
- cbsnews.com · Link