Abdulrahman Alfozan, an engineer at OpenAI, has filed for bail following his arrest on October 9. He faces charges related to the discovery of a secret recording device hidden behind a television in an OpenAI executive conference room. The company terminated his employment on the day of his arrest.
Prosecutors argued that Alfozan intended to flee the United States, citing his purchase of one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia for himself and his family. They claimed he had both the means and motive to escape. However, Alfozan's legal team contends the tickets were purchased on September 13, 17 days before the device was found and 26 days before his arrest.
The defense maintains that the travel plans were made to comply with immigration regulations regarding his wife's work permit expiration. Alfozan, a U.S. permanent resident since 2020, has lived in the country for 15 years and previously worked at Meta. His lawyers noted he has a U.S.-born child and was scheduled to begin parental leave on October 19.
To support his release, 54 individuals, including doctors, engineers, and startup founders, have written letters to the court. The Saudi Arabian Consulate has also offered to support his supervised release under strict conditions, including travel restrictions. A detention hearing is scheduled for October 19 in San Francisco.
