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Technology

FBI weighs espionage charges against former OpenAI engineer over Saudi ties, WSJ reports

The FBI is investigating whether to pursue economic espionage charges against former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a law-enforcement official.

By James Calloway · · 1 min read

The FBI is investigating whether to pursue economic espionage charges against former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a law-enforcement official.

Investigators are examining whether Alfozan obtained confidential information to offer to the Saudi government, even without being recruited to do so, according to the official cited by the Journal. Authorities are also considering potential trade secret theft charges, the Journal reported.

The investigation may not result in additional prosecution, the official said, and no new charge has been filed. That caveat is central to the report: the espionage case is under consideration, not a charge already brought.

Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national and United States permanent resident, currently faces a federal charge of unlawfully intercepting communications, punishable by up to five years in prison, the Jerusalem Post reported. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 6.

His lawyer, William Pernik, said he had received no indication that additional charges were being considered. “We made it very clear that Mr. Alfozan will fight these charges and allegations in court, not in the press,” Pernik said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

OpenAI and the Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment to the Journal, the report said.

Alfozan was arrested on October 9 after allegedly concealing a small circuit board and microphone behind a television in a conference room primarily used by OpenAI executives. He was denied bail on October 19 after a judge found he posed a significant flight risk.

Sources

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