Former engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, accused of hiding eavesdropping devices in OpenAI's offices, had his bail request rejected by a San Francisco judge on Monday local time, meaning he can only remain in jail to prepare his defense. The U.S. Department of Justice arrested him on October 9, charging him with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications — photos attached to the FBI's affidavit show the device wrapped in toilet paper and stuffed behind a conference room television, while another photo captured a man identified as Alfozan peering behind the TV.
At the hearing, the 35-year-old defendant appeared wearing a yellow medical mask and an orange jail sweatshirt. Magistrate Judge Alex Che thoroughly questioned the defense team: if released, would he skip future court appearances. Judge Che's concerns were specific — Alfozan's wife and son had already left for Saudi Arabia with no plans to return, and he had previously booked a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia; more critically, there is no extradition treaty between Saudi Arabia and the United States, and he also lacked sufficient community ties in the Bay Area.
No Extradition Treaty with Saudi Arabia, Immigration Dream Stuck Behind Bars
The conditions offered by defense attorney William Penick were by no means light: wearing an ankle monitor, home confinement, restricted use of electronic devices, and a willingness to post "nearly all of the family's assets" as bond, including an investment account of about 1 million dollars (about 6.694 million yuan in RMB). "He is willing to hand over everything he owns to prove he won't run." Penick also argued that Alfozan had local ties, citing his upcoming citizenship interview and the fact that he was "only weeks away from achieving every immigrant's American dream"; another lawyer, Yassin, added that his wife had obtained a short-term visitor visa and could return to the U.S., reinforcing that argument.
But Assistant District Attorney Nick Parker countered that even a 1,000,000-dollar bail facing forfeiture would not be enough to restrain him—once out of the country, Alfouzan might earn even more in Saudi Arabia. The judge agreed this risk was real: "Once he leaves the country, this case cannot proceed; that danger genuinely exists." The judge also questioned Alfouzan's multiple ties to Saudi Arabia, including the Saudi consulate's promise to pay his bail and to fund his legal defense. The next hearing was scheduled for early November, the start of month 11.
For background, Alfozan holds a U.S. green card, studied at MIT, worked at Meta from 2017 to 2023, and only joined OpenAI in 2025. When the arrest was announced, OpenAI said the device was "sophisticated in design," but there was no evidence he had stolen model weights, source code, or customer information, and the company had fired him. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and Penick said last week that the charges were "completely inconsistent with his character." Now, with his million-dollar fortune and immigration future both staked on this bail tug-of-war, the judge chose to keep the risk locked up in jail for now.