FBI Arrests Abdulrahman Alfozan Over Recording Device

The FBI arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan on October 9. He was 35 and worked before at OpenAI. He is accused of using, or trying to use, a device to record spoken talks. Alfozan is from Saudi Arabia. He joined OpenAI in July 2025 and became a US permanent resident in 2020.

Devices at OpenAI Offices

Prosecutors say Alfozan hid a recorder behind a TV around September 28. It was in a meeting room for OpenAI leaders in San Francisco. Workers found it there on September 30. Toilet paper covered the device.

Court papers say it was a tiny board with a microphone and microSD storage. Fortune gave its model name: Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense. On October 5, workers found a second similar recorder in Alfozan's unattended bag in another room. His wallet and ID were there too.

Security video showed Alfozan near the room on several September days. On October 5, it showed him enter and look behind the TV. Court papers say he could not use that room. Leaders and their assistants could book it.

Prosecutors say people often discussed private work information there. They talked about technology, business plans, research, products and business growth. Leaders also held private meetings there. Government workers and business partners came for outside briefings.

Questions and Company Actions

Prosecutors say a ChatGPT account linked to Alfozan's wife sent questions from September 24 to 30. The questions asked how to make and hide a recorder. OpenAI told Fortune it was the company's ChatGPT. The complaint does not charge his wife.

Court papers list questions about nonstop sound recording and listening from far away. They also mention sending or deleting recordings and locking a memory card with a code. From August 17 to September 16, Alfozan asked OpenAI's AI helper about meeting rooms and who could use them. He also asked about meetings with outside partners.

Prosecutors say he asked which rooms were for important meetings. He also asked where outside partners usually met. OpenAI said it found the device and gave information to the FBI. The company fired Alfozan.

OpenAI said its AI models helped study the device and find where it may have come from. The company also studied copies of its data. OpenAI said it found no sign that Alfozan wrongly got model weights, source code or customer data. It found no sign that he copied or took that data from its systems.

OpenAI said it had information that Alfozan planned to put more recorders in its offices. An FBI agent said workers could not get files from the memory card or open them. A sworn court paper said the files may have had a lock.

The case does not say if the device recorded any talks. The charge is under the federal Wiretap Act. Fortune and BBC say the largest penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Court Case and Next Steps

The complaint does not charge trade-secret theft or economic spying. It does not claim a foreign link. Alfozan's lawyer, William Pernik, said the claims were not like his client. He said this case is about breaking a recording law, not stealing business secrets or working for another country.

Fortune said Alfozan, his wife and another family member booked one-way tickets for October 12. They planned to fly from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia through Istanbul. The FBI arrested Alfozan three days before that date.

Alfozan first went to federal court in California on October 13. A hearing about keeping him in custody is set for October 19. The Speedy Trial Act gives prosecutors 30 days after an arrest to seek a formal charge. A large jury may add charges. The FBI is still investigating.

A LinkedIn profile with the same name lists Alfozan as an OpenAI engineering leader. It also lists him as a partner at Raed Ventures. The venture firm is in Riyadh.