OpenAI Meeting Room Wiretapping Case: Saudi Defendant Pleads Not Guilty, Faces Up to Five Years in Prison if Convicted
Saudi citizen Abdulrahman Al-Fawzan is accused of installing wiretapping equipment in a restricted-access meeting room at OpenAI. When he appeared in San Francisco federal court on November 7, he pleaded not guilty to the sole charge of intercepting oral communications, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He had worked on OpenAI's product team since July 2025, was fired this October and arrested the same day, and is currently in federal law enforcement custody, with his next court appearance scheduled for November 17.
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OpenAI Meeting Room Wiretapping Case: Saudi Defendant Pleads Not Guilty, Faces Up to Five Years in Prison if Convicted
Phoenix Tech Download the App for Exclusive Early Access November 07, 2026 08:22:08 From Beijing
Alfozan photographed inspecting the eavesdropping device
Phoenix Tech News, November 7 (Beijing Time) — According to The Wall Street Journal, Saudi citizen Abdulrahman Alfozan has been accused of installing an eavesdropping device in a restricted-access meeting room at OpenAI. On Friday, he appeared in San Francisco federal court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Friday, Alfozan attended an arraignment hearing before a U.S. federal magistrate judge. His lawyer, David W. Rizk, said his client pleaded not guilty to the sole charge filed by prosecutors. The charge is interception of oral communications, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Alfozan is currently in federal law enforcement custody, and his next court appearance will be on November 17.
Alfozan is accused of wrapping a thumb-sized circuit board and microphone in toilet paper and hiding them behind a wall-mounted television in an executive meeting room at the OpenAI office on or around September 28 of this year. At the time, he was about to leave the United States.
He had been working on the OpenAI product team since July 2025 until he was fired this October. On the same day, he was also arrested and indicted.
Prosecutors previously alleged that Alfozan had booked one-way tickets for himself, his wife, and his newborn son for October 12 from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul. Prosecutors said that shortly after Alfozan's arrest, his wife and son left the United States without him.
Prosecutors also said that the one-way tickets for his wife and child were initially paid for by the Saudi government, but the originally scheduled flight was later canceled. According to documents filed by prosecutors, a Saudi military officer subsequently rebooked the two on another one-way flight to Qatar, this time in business class.
Alfozan's lawyer argued that the military officer is his wife's brother-in-law, and said she left because of visa issues. Alfozan's lawyer previously said she planned to return to the United States to support her husband. (Author/Xiaoyu)
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