Grand jury indicts former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging SF workplace
A federal grand jury indicted a former OpenAI engineer on Tuesday over an alleged bugging of an govt convention room final month.
The indictment, filed within the Northern District of California, prices Abdulrahman Alfozan with one depend of interception of oral communications associated to OpenAI’s enterprise operations. It notes that Alfozan must forfeit all audiovisual recording units in his possession whereas he labored at OpenAI’s San Francisco workplace if convicted. Alfozan faces as much as 5 years in jail if convicted.
William Pernick, Alfozan’s lawyer, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Alfozan, a 35-year-old Millbrae resident, was an engineering lead at OpenAI from September 2025 till Oct. 9, when OpenAI terminated him and the FBI arrested him.
On or about Sept. 30, OpenAI workers found a recording gadget wrapped in bathroom paper in a USB port of an govt convention room TV, in keeping with an affidavit filed the day earlier than his arrest. Alfozan had no authorization to entry the convention room the place conferences “regularly concerned discussions of extremely confidential technical, industrial and strategic info,” the affidavit stated.
On Oct. 5, safety footage allegedly caught Alfozan peering behind the identical TV. That identical day, OpenAI safety personnel searched Alfozan’s bag and found one other recording gadget, in keeping with the criticism. Authorities additionally alleged that within the weeks main as much as the alleged bugging, Alfozan queried a “productiveness agent” to ask concerning the convention room’s schedule and the place sure conferences could be held. A chatbot account linked to his spouse additionally reportedly had queries pertaining to constructing an audio recorder and encrypting a reminiscence card.
Alfozan, a Saudi Arabian nationwide, is being held with out bail, regardless of a proposal from the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles to pay any bail in full, in keeping with CNBC. A San Francisco choose denied the Saudi Consulate’s request, calling Alfozan a “significant” flight risk. The New York Times reported final week that the Saudi authorities paid for his wife and kids to fly out of the U.S.
Contact tech reporter Matthew Brown at [email protected] or matthewbrownsfgate.11 on Signal.
