An accused OpenAI spy got help from a member of the Saudi military in attempting to ship his family back to the kingdom just before his arrest for allegedly bugging the company’s conference rooms, according to federal prosecutors.
Ex-OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in regular contact with a member of the Saudi royal family — and received support from government officials as he allegedly hatched a scheme to record high-level meetings at the leading AI firm, prosecutors claimed in a court filing unsealed Sunday evening.
“The defendant went to significant lengths to create customized, encrypted recording devices to secretly record highly sensitive meetings involving senior OpenAI personnel and executives, high-level business counterparts, and government officials, all while communicating with individuals of significance in Saudi Arabia and pursuing opportunities in — and making plans to travel to — Saudi Arabia,” US attorneys wrote in a filing seeking Alfozan’s detention.
A Saudi military official purchased a one-way, business class ticket for Alfozan’s wife and son, who had planned to move back to Saudi Arabia with Alfozan joining them at a later date, according to prosecutors.
Alfozan’s wife and son left the country 36 hours after his arrest, they said.
“He had intended to fly from San Francisco to Riyadh (via Istanbul) with his wife and son on a one-way ticket on October 12, 2026. Having been arrested by the FBI three days prior, the defendant
did not make that flight,” the filing read.
Prosecutors say Alfozan’s alleged close ties to Saudi officials didn’t stop there.
A Saudi royal attempted to recruit Alfozan for an AI-related position, according to a text message cited by prosecutors.
“Saudi needs you more then the US!” the royal allegedly wrote, to which Alfozan reportedly replied: “100.”
The San Francisco engineer, who was fired from OpenAI, is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
In addition to his OpenAI role, Alfozan was listed as a venture partner at RAED Ventures in Riyadh alongside Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family.
The officials who were allegedly in touch with Alfozan and his family were not named.
After getting technical degrees from UC Berkeley and MIT, Alfozan spent a decade working in Silicon Valley and joined OpenAI last year —earning a hefty salary of $385,000 plus a new hire equity grant of $2,200,000 in profit participation units, per court docs.
Alfozan was accused on Oct. 9 of planting a tiny recording device in executive conference rooms at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters — wrapping the device in toilet paper and stuffing it in a USB port on the back of a TV in a conference room.
The press office of the Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
