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

• 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.

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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