Ex-OpenAI Engineer Accused of Planting Listening Device Was in Contact With Saudi Royal Family Member, Prosecutors Say

Federal prosecutors say the former OpenAI engineer charged with planting a listening device in a company conference room was in frequent contact with a member of the Saudi royal family who tried to recruit him, according to a Justice Department detention memo filed Sunday night.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, was arrested days before he and his family were booked on a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia, the memo says. A Saudi military official allegedly booked and paid for Alfozan’s family’s flight out of the country after he was arrested.

According to the memo, Alfozan was scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia on parental leave on Oct. 12 and booked a one-way ticket with no set date to return to the United States. He was arrested before the flight, but his wife did leave on another flight allegedly paid for by the Saudi government.

Alfozan is accused of placing the device inside a USB port in the back of a television in one of OpenAI’s conference rooms. Prosecutors note the room is frequently used by executives to host internal leadership meetings, “as well as external briefings with government officials and business counterparts.”

Recruitment messages and “Riyadh tasks”

“Throughout 2025 and 2026, the defendant was in frequent communication via WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi Royal Family, including as recently as October 5, 2026,” the detention memo says. The individual told Alfozan that an artificial intelligence initiative was being launched in Saudi Arabia and wanted him to join it, prosecutors say. In May 2026, the individual told Alfozan, “Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!” to which the defendant responded “100,” according to the memo.

The royal family member repeatedly tried to recruit Alfozan and asked when he planned to leave OpenAI, prosecutors say. Alfozan replied he would not leave until his stock vested, according to the memo.

Investigators said they found a note entitled “Riyadh tasks” last edited on Sept. 13 that listed action items including finding an apartment and job for his wife and obtaining a Saudi passport for his son.

Device hidden to avoid detection

Alfozan allegedly set up the listening device to the TV but rigged it in a way that it would not be detected on the TV settings, and set up an AI chatbot account to “build a continuous audio recorder,” according to the memo.

The Justice Department’s memo notes that in the days surrounding when Alfozan placed the device in the conference room, “OpenAI executives met with government officials in that very room.” The Justice Department said Alfozan’s conduct could pose a “danger” to national security and that he could face “additional serious charges.”

Pernik Law, which is representing Alfozan, declined to comment.

OpenAI said it identified Alfozan as the person who planted the device, referred the matter to the FBI and fired him. “We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest,” the company said. “At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data.”

Detention hearing

Alfozan was scheduled to appear Monday in a San Francisco federal courtroom for a detention hearing to determine whether the government can hold him pending trial. His wife told FBI agents she and her son were moving back to Saudi Arabia permanently, and that her husband planned to return to the United States to resume working at OpenAI after spending two months in Saudi Arabia, but that he, too, intended at some point to move to Saudi Arabia permanently, according to investigators.

The memo says Alfozan’s wife and son flew from San Francisco to Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 10, 2026, the day after he was arrested, on a one-way, business-class ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official.

Reporting based on coverage by ABC Audio.