Former OpenAI Engineer Pleads Not Guilty to Planting Covert Device in Executive Meeting Room
The OpenAI engineer who was arrested and charged last month for planting a covert audio recording device in the company's office has pleaded not guilty. According to reports from Bloomberg and CNBC, Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan made an appearance in San Francisco federal court on Friday, where he entered the plea. His next hearing is scheduled for November 17, 2026. If proven guilty, the
Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer, appeared in a San Francisco federal court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to charges of planting a covert audio recording device in an executive meeting room at the company. According to the indictment, Alfozan, a Saudi national, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of intercepting oral communications.
The 35-year-old has been held without bail since his arrest on October 9. Alfozan's wife and son initially planned to join him via a one-way flight from San Francisco to Riyadh, but their journey was altered when they flew to Doha, Qatar, on October 10. Alfozan, who was in frequent contact with a member of the Saudi Royal Family, was also deemed a flight risk.
Written by urgent.news from The Hacker News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
