Prosecutors call Saudi suspect and ex-OpenAI worker Abdulrahman Alfozan 'an ongoing danger'

Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national and former employee of OpenAI, has been deemed a continuing threat by US prosecutors and should not be released from custody, according to a court filing. The Justice Department argued that Alfozan poses an ongoing danger to the community and a serious risk of fleeing during the ongoing investigation.

The department's lawyer, Craig Missakian, cited Alfozan's wife and son booking a flight for Saudi Arabia and his own expressed intention to return to the country after his arrest as evidence of his planned departure. Alfozan was arrested on October 8 for allegedly hiding a recording device at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters.

The device, a Chinese-made Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3, was discovered behind a television in a conference room. Alfozan, who started working at OpenAI in July of the previous year, was fired on the day of his arrest. His legal team has filed a request for his release, proposing a GPS ankle monitor, home confinement, and surrender of his passport.

If convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, followed by three years of supervised release.