From NBC Bay Area · · 1m 30s
Ex-OpenAI worker accused of bugging conference room
Ex-OpenAI worker charged with bugging conference room to spy on company details before fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
In brief
Ex-OpenAI worker charged with bugging conference room to spy on company details before fleeing to Saudi Arabia. A former OpenAI engineer was arrested after secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to gather company information, with plans to travel to Saudi Arabia using funds from his U.S. and Saudi…
Ex-OpenAI worker charged
A former OpenAI engineer was charged with secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to gather company details.
Planned flight to Saudi Arabia
Prosecutors say he had booked one-way tickets for his family to Saudi Arabia using funds from a Saudi military official.
Arrested before leaving
Alfozan’s wife and son left the country the day after his arrest, traveling on a one-way ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official.
Funds and support
He has significant compensation from a decade of high-tech employment in the Bay Area and at least two bank accounts in Saudi Arabia.
Arrested in San Francisco
A federal judge denied Alfozan’s request for home confinement, with his next court date set for November.
Planned to spy on company
Prosecutors say Alfozan concealed an audio recording device in toilet paper and plugged it into a television's USB port in an unauthorized conference room.
What he recorded
The conference room was used for meetings involving company leaders, government officials, and discussions of confidential technical and strategic information.
The takeaway
A former OpenAI engineer was arrested after secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to gather company information, with plans to travel to Saudi Arabia using funds from his U.S. and Saudi bank accounts.
