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By BARBARA ORTUTAY and PHILIP MARCELO SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former OpenAI engineer charged with secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to glean company details had been “mere days” away from absconding to Saudi Arabia before his arrest last week, federal prosecutors revealed in new court filings. Abdulrahman Alfozan’s wife and young son also left the country the day after the 35-year-old Saudi national’s arrest, traveling on a one-way ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official, prosecutors said in a memo Sunday seeking his continued detention. “Ultimately, the defendant has little incentive to remain in the United States to see this case through,” federal prosecutors wrote. “He has ample resources —including his significant compensation from a decade of high-tech employment in the Bay Area and at least two bank accounts in Saudi Arabia — and what appears to be considerable support from a foreign government.” A federal judge in San Francisco sided with prosecutors Monday, denying a request by Alfozan’s lawyers to release him to home confinement. His next court date is Nov. Alfozan’s lawyer William Pernik argued in court that his client had strong ties to the U.S. and was “weeks away from achieving every immigrant’s dream” — U.S. citizenship. Alfozan had a naturalization interview with federal officials scheduled next month and has been a lawful permanent resident since 2020, his lawyers said in their legal filings. He has also lived in the U.S. for 15 years and attended MIT and the University of California, Berkeley, they said. Pernik said Alfozan is willing to put up “almost the entirety” of his assets — about $1 million currently in a U.S. investment account — to cover his bond. “Everything this man has he’s willing to surrender,” he said, adding that Alfozan’s wife is also willing to return to the U.S. as she still holds a visitor visa that expires in 2033. Judge Alex Tse appeared doubtful, questioning whether Saudi Arabia’s government would simply reimburse Alfozan if he fled and forfeited his bond. After the hearing, Pernik said he was disappointed with the ruling but declined further comment. Pernik had argued in court filings that Alfozan purchased one-way tickets for his family to Saudi Arabia more than two weeks before prosecutors allege the recording devices were installed. They said the couple planned to spend Alfozan’s roughly two-month paternity leave in Saudi Arabia following the birth of their U.S.-citizen son. But prosecutors said Saudi officials purchased new plane tickets for Alfozan’s wife and son after his arrest, allowing them to leave the U.S. sooner than the Oct. 12 flight Alfozan had originally booked. Prosecutors have not said what Alfozan might have wanted to do with the recordings, but say he was in “frequent communication” with a member of the Saudi royal family. They said the royal family member repeatedly tried to recruit Alfozan to an artificial intelligence venture being launched in Saudi Arabia. Alfozan had told the unnamed person he wouldn’t leave OpenAI until his stock was vested, even as he explored other career opportunities in the Middle Eastern kingdom, prosecutors wrote. He had worked at the ChatGPT maker since July 2025 but was fired after his arrest. Prosecutors say Alfozan concealed an audio recording device in toilet paper and plugged it into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room he wasn’t authorized to access. They say security cameras captured him entering the room and checking behind the television after installing the device. It remained there for several days before being found Sept. 30. Prosecutors say the conference room was typically used for meetings involving company leaders, government officials and other executives and “discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information, including proprietary research, as well as nonpublic information.” OpenAI has said the recording device Alfozan used was sophisticated, designed to evade detection and featured advanced encryption and audio-monitoring capabilities. They also said they had evidence Alfozan planned to place other listening devices elsewhere in the office. Alfozan has been charged with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. If convicted, he faces a five-year prison sentence. Marcelo reported from New York.
document fetched 2026-10-19 22:32 · canonical https://courant.com/2026/10/19/ai-engineer-arrested-saudi-arabia-plan