The engineer accused of bugging OpenAI's office pleads not guilty

An FBI affidavit included an image of what prosecutors said is Abdulrahman Alfozan looking behind a television located in the conference room where the recording device was planted.

DOJ/Reuters

• Abdulrahman Alfozan was an engineer at OpenAI before he was accused of bugging the startup's office.
• He's charged with intercepting oral communications and was previously denied release.
• Alfozan entered a not-guilty plea on Friday in San Francisco's federal courthouse.

Abdulrahman Alfozan, the OpenAI engineer fired and arrested last month on accusations that he'd bugged the company's office, pleaded not guilty on Friday.

He entered the plea in San Francisco's federal courthouse, a few weeks into his detention. A judge at a prior hearing deemed the Saudi a flight risk and declined his request for bond.

Federal agents arrested Alfozan on October 9 and charged him with one count of intercepting oral communications. Prosecutors say the 35-year-old engineer hid a recording device wrapped in toilet paper behind a television in an OpenAI conference room. They also alleged that his wife's chatbot history showed multiple prompts about building, testing, and hiding an audio recorder.

On Friday, Judge Peter Kang reminded Alfozan of his rights to remain silent and to an attorney.

Alfozan's lawyer, David Rizk, waived the reading of Alfozan's indictment and entered a not-guilty plea.

Alfozan and his wife lived in Millbrae, California. Neighbors told Business Insider that the couple largely kept to themselves, though they would occasionally host parties. Before OpenAI, Alfozan worked at Facebook, a Y Combinator-backed startup called Nash, and as a venture capital investor for a Saudi firm.

He's lived in the US since college. His previous lawyer said he had a green card, making him a permanent legal resident, and had been weeks away from a naturalization interview before his arrest.

Alfozan's next hearing is scheduled for November 17.

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