Court Filing Reveals Former OpenAI Engineer’s Saudi Arabia Travel Plans
Prosecutors said Abdulrahman Alfozan, his wife and another family member were booked to leave San Francisco on October 12, traveling through Istanbul before reaching their destination. The FBI arrested Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi citizen and permanent US resident, three days before the scheduled flight.
The travel arrangements were disclosed in a motion filed on October 8, in which prosecutors sought to keep the criminal complaint, arrest warrant and related records confidential until the arrest had been carried out.
“The defendant has the means – and will have an incentive – to flee the United States sooner if he learns about this case before he is arrested,” Justice Department lawyers wrote.
Alfozan faces a charge of using or attempting to use equipment to intercept oral communications. If convicted, he could receive a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of $250,000.
He joined OpenAI as an engineer in July 2025 and was terminated on the day of his arrest, according to the Justice Department.
Court documents state that company employees discovered an audio recording device on September 30 in an executive conference room. The device was wrapped in toilet paper and connected to a USB port behind a television, while the files stored on it appeared to be encrypted.
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