OpenAI engineer accused of bugging office pleads not guilty, denied bond over Saudi ties
rohanpaul_ai · x · 2026-11-07
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the former OpenAI engineer fired and arrested for allegedly planting a recording device in a company conference room, pleaded not guilty in San Francisco federal court to a felony count of intercepting oral communications.
Key facts:
- Prosecutors say the 35-year-old hid a recorder wrapped in toilet paper behind a TV; his wife's chatbot history allegedly contained prompts about building, testing and hiding an audio recorder.
- Arrested October 9; a judge deemed his Saudi ties a flight risk and denied bond, so he remains jailed.
- No charge alleges trade-secret theft or work for a foreign entity.
- He previously worked at Facebook, YC-backed startup Nash, and as a VC investor for a Saudi firm.
Related event: Ex-OpenAI engineer pleads not guilty to bugging charge(5 posts)→
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