A former OpenAI engineer who allegedly installed an advanced listening device in an executive conference room had been communicating with a member of the Saudi royal family and planned to leave the United States for Riyadh when he was arrested, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Sunday.
Abdulrahman Alfozan is accused of using artificial intelligence tools to help design encrypted recording equipment and locate meeting rooms used by OpenAI executives, government officials and corporate partners.
The Saudi national earned $385,000 a year at OpenAI and received a $2.2 million equity grant when he joined the company in July 2025.
In an 11-page memorandum, prosecutors said investigators found evidence that Alfozan may have intended to install additional devices at OpenAI offices. The filing also disclosed WhatsApp exchanges between Alfozan and an unidentified Saudi royal, who repeatedly urged him to return to the kingdom and work on a Saudi AI initiative.
Investigators also recovered photographs showing other possible surveillance sites, internal searches about meetings between OpenAI and Saudi government officials, and notes indicating that Alfozan planned to retrieve the devices before leaving the company.
According to prosecutors, Alfozan installed a “surreptitious audio recording device into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive OpenAI conference room” on Sept. 28. The device allegedly remained there for at least several days.
Prosecutors said he “modified the device to prevent data transfer between it and the television into which it was inserted” and encrypted the recordings stored on its microSD card.
In the days before the installation, investigators allege that Alfozan used an AI chatbot account belonging to his wife to research ways to customize the recorder. His searches covered how to “build a continuous audio recorder,” capture microphone audio and save compressed WAV files to an SD card, improve audio and live listening, create speech-triggered recording, add browser-based controls, and encrypt, decrypt and recover recordings from the card.
Prosecutors said meetings in the conference room routinely involved “highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information,” including proprietary research and nonpublic details about OpenAI’s technological progress, strategic decisions, capabilities, priorities, government dealings and business relationships.
The filing said investigators determined that OpenAI executives met with government officials in the room during the days surrounding the alleged installation. Prosecutors argued that the alleged conduct “could pose a danger to the national security of the United States.”
Alfozan’s cellphone also allegedly contained photographs of at least one additional concealed recorder and electronic equipment located in other OpenAI meeting rooms, prosecutors said.
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Prosecutors further alleged that Alfozan maintained frequent WhatsApp contact with a member of the Saudi Royal Family throughout 2025 and 2026, including as recently as Oct. 5, 2026.
The Saudi royal reportedly told Alfozan that Saudi Arabia was launching an artificial intelligence initiative and encouraged him to join the effort.
“Saudi needs you more than [sic] the US!” the royal wrote, according to the filing. Alfozan agreed to the proposal but said he would not leave until his stock vested.
Authorities arrested Alfozan on Oct. 9, three days before he was scheduled to fly with his wife and infant son from San Francisco to Riyadh on a one-way ticket.
His wife and three-month-old son instead left the United States the next day on business-class tickets allegedly purchased by a Saudi military official. Before his arrest, Alfozan had also been scheduled to begin two months of parental leave in October 2026.
Alfozan had no prior criminal record, according to the filing. He became a U.S. permanent resident in September 2020 and later applied for citizenship. OpenAI terminated his employment after his arrest. A detention hearing was scheduled for Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse.
The government is seeking to keep Alfozan detained while he awaits trial, arguing that his wealth, international connections and apparent assistance from Saudi officials create a significant flight risk.
