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, US prosecutors revealed in new court filings.
Abdulrahman Alfozan’s wife and young son also left the United States the day after the 35-year-old Saudi national’s arrest, travelling on a one-way ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official, prosecutors said in a memo on Sunday seeking his continued detention.
A Saudi man working for Open Ai is accused of planting a secret surveillance device at the company’s offices in San Francisco. US Justice Department
“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 on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), denying a request by Alfozan’s lawyers to release him to home confinement. His next court date is in November.
Alfozan’s lawyer William Pernik argued in court that his client had strong ties to the US and was “weeks away from achieving every immigrant’s dream” – American citizenship.
Alfozan had a naturalisation 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 US for 15 years and attended MIT and the University of California, Berkeley, they said.
The device was allegedly concealed in toilet paper and fixed behind a TV in an OpenAI conference room. US Justice Department
But prosecutors said Saudi officials purchased new plane tickets for Alfozan’s wife and son after his arrest, allowing them to leave the US sooner than the October 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.
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 in the San Francisco offices of OpenAI. He wasn’t authorised to access the room.
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 on September 30.
Alfozan has been charged with using or endeavouring to use an electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept oral communications. If convicted, he faces a five-year prison sentence