US Accuses Ex-OpenAI Engineer of Planting Recorder With Saudi Support
United States prosecutors have accused a former OpenAI engineer charged with hiding an audio recording device in a company meeting room of having "considerable support" from the Saudi government. BBC They said he should remain in custody while awaiting trial because he poses a flight risk.
The defendant is Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national who worked as an engineer at OpenAI for around a year. He was arrested by the FBI on 9 October, and the company ended his contract after the arrest.
In a California court filing, prosecutors said Alfozan was in frequent communication with a member of the Saudi royal family. They said his alleged conduct could pose "a danger to the national security of the United States" because OpenAI executives met with government officials in the room during the days the device was believed to be installed.
OpenAI staff found the device on 30 September, plugged into the back of a television in a conference room and covered with toilet paper. The room was used for confidential discussions, and the device was described as an encrypted recording device. Fox News
On 5 October, Alfozan was filmed entering the meeting room and appearing to look behind the television where the recorder had been placed, according to the filing. Alfozan had said he advised government agencies in Saudi Arabia. The New York Times
The arrest came three days before Alfozan was scheduled to fly from San Francisco to Riyadh on a one-way itinerary with his wife and son. His wife told FBI agents that her United States visa was expiring and that she and her son were permanently moving back to Saudi Arabia and her husband intended to do the same, according to the filing. On 10 October, his wife and son flew from San Francisco to Doha, Qatar, on one-way business class tickets booked and paid for by a Saudi military official.
Federal prosecutors in Northern California said a Saudi national had been arrested for installing a surreptitious audio recording device at OpenAI in San Francisco. U.S. Attorney's Office If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco later on Monday.
