A former OpenAI engineer accused of placing a recording device in a conference room at the company’s San Francisco office had purchased a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia shortly before being taken into federal custody, the Justice Department said.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, had booked an Oct. 12 flight for himself, his wife and another relative—several days after his arrest, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors pointed to those travel arrangements in asking a judge to keep the criminal complaint and arrest warrant sealed. They argued that revealing the case could lead Alfozan to flee the United States.
A man described as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national formerly employed as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a television where a recording device had been placed in a conference room in OpenAI offices, in a still image from surveillance video. (Department of Justice/Handout via Reuters)
“Disclosure of the specified documents might jeopardize the defendant’s arrest,” court documents state.
In an Arabic-language podcast last month, Alfozan described meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the prince’s 2016 visit to Silicon Valley.
Alfozan said he had been considering a return to Saudi Arabia. The crown prince told young Saudis living and working in Silicon Valley to develop their abilities at leading technology companies before taking that expertise back home, according to the New York Post.
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OpenAI offices are seen in San Francisco. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
“You learn from the source and then, God willing, bring that experience and knowledge back to the homeland,” Alfozan reportedly said on the podcast.
Alfozan was arrested Oct. 9 and charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, the Justice Department said.
OpenAI found the encrypted device on Sept. 30. Prosecutors said it was plugged into a USB port on the back of a television in a conference room used for “highly confidential” discussions about proprietary research, product plans and business opportunities.
The OpenAI logo is displayed on a smartphone screen on a reflective surface with Dots promotional artwork projected onto it in Creteil, France, on Oct. 1, 2026, as OpenAI begins rolling out Dots in ChatGPT, its new system of autonomous AI agents. (Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Authorities said the device had allegedly been hidden in toilet paper and installed two days before it was discovered. OpenAI traced it to Alfozan, while surveillance footage allegedly showed him near the conference room several times.
Prosecutors also allege that a chatbot linked to Alfozan’s wife was used to submit prompts seeking information on how to install and conceal audio-recording devices.
News Media has contacted Alfozan’s attorney for comment.