US Federal Grand Jury Indicts OpenAI Engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan for Bugging Conference Room
Former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan was formally indicted by a US federal grand jury for installing an encrypted listening device in a San Francisco headquarters conference room.
According to reporting by Sarah Brager for the San Francisco Chronicle, syndicated by Yahoo News, a US federal grand jury on Tuesday (October 28) formally indicted 35-year-old Abdulrahman "Abdul" Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer. Alfozan, a Saudi national who joined the company in 2025 to work on ChatGPT-related projects, faces one felony count of interception of oral communications.
Court filings state that Alfozan installed an encrypted listening device in a conference room at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, a space frequently used for discussions on confidential research, business plans, and government partnerships. The device was hidden behind a television and wrapped in toilet paper. FBI agents arrested Alfozan in Millbrae on October 9, just over a week after security personnel discovered the device during a sweep of the room.
BBC technology reporter Laura Cress noted that according to the official complaint, Alfozan had used an AI assistant to query meeting room schedules and ask how to build and remotely access recording devices. OpenAI stated on X that it used its own AI models to analyze the device's origin and confirmed there are currently no indications that the individual improperly accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code, or customer data.
If convicted, Alfozan faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. He remained in custody without bail following his initial appearance. His attorney, William Pernik, described the allegations as "wholly out of character" and asked the public to withhold judgment until all facts are known.