US prosecutors have accused Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer, of having substantial backing from the Saudi government, BBC reported. A US judge denied Alfozan bail after finding a significant risk he would not appear for trial. OpenAI found a recording device on 30 September plugged into the back of a television in a conference room and concealed under toilet paper.
The FBI arrested Alfozan on 9 October, and OpenAI then ended his contract after he had been employed at the company for approximately one year. His arrest occurred three days before he was booked to travel one-way from San Francisco to Riyadh with his wife and son. On 10 October, Alfozan's wife and son flew one-way from San Francisco to Doha on a business class ticket paid for by a Saudi military official.
Prosecutors alleged in a court filing that Alfozan maintained regular contact with a Saudi royal family member and had little reason to stay in the US to face the case. The filing stated that the alleged conduct could threaten US national security because tech executives held meetings with government officials in that room while the device was believed to be active. Prosecutors said Alfozan was pursuing opportunities in Saudi Arabia, including a program run by the Misk Foundation that required him to be present in Riyadh.
Investigators found a deleted note on Alfozan's phone from September containing links to various recording devices, among them products by Seeed Studio, the same manufacturer whose devices OpenAI recovered at its offices and FBI agents recovered at his home. A note on the phone labelled "OpenAI leave" indicated plans to collect installed or planned devices early and then extend parental leave.
Alfozan's lawyer, William Pernik, told the court that nationality alone does not constitute evidence of flight risk, and that the planned travel was for family and visa reasons. Pernik stated that Alfozan's wife's visa grace period following the end of her employment was due to expire on 12 October, which was the original date of their flight. The defence lawyer argued that because Alfozan knew OpenAI had found the device around eight to ten days before his arrest, he would have fled at that point if that had been his intention.
Pernik wrote that Alfozan's US residency spanned fifteen years overall, with roughly ten of those spent in the Bay Area. The defence argued that the Saudi Consulate General had confirmed in writing to US Pretrial Services that it would not issue Alfozan any travel documents during any period of release.
OpenAI said it found no indication that model weights, source code or customer data were accessed or removed. The company said it used one of its own AI models to analyse the device and determine its origin, describing the device as sophisticated. Upon conviction, Alfozan faces a maximum of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Background: The Guardian, BBC
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
