A Google engineer has been arrested and charged with insider trading for allegedly using confidential company information to place bets on the prediction platform Polymarket, amassing over $1.2 million in profits. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the charges against Michele Spagnuolo, an engineer focused on information security at Google for over 12 years.
According to court documents, Spagnuolo allegedly exploited his access to non-public information from Google to make lucrative wagers on Polymarket, a platform that exclusively uses cryptocurrency. The US Attorney's office stated that between October and December of last year, Spagnuolo placed approximately $2.7 million in bets related to Google. By leveraging internal data, he reportedly generated more than $1 million in profits from these activities.
One of Spagnuolo's most significant alleged wins involved correctly predicting the most searched person on Google in 2025. Court papers indicate that in November, Spagnuolo placed a bet on the singer D4vd to be the top-searched individual, a prediction that carried near-zero odds on the platform. At the time of placing this bet, Spagnuolo allegedly possessed internal Google data confirming D4vd's status as the most searched person, information not yet released to the public.
Google has stated that the information Spagnuolo allegedly used was accessed through a tool available to all employees, but using confidential information for betting constitutes a serious breach of company policies. A spokeswoman for Google confirmed that the company is cooperating with law enforcement and has placed the employee on leave.
Authorities were able to link Spagnuolo's various betting accounts on Polymarket, despite his use of cryptocurrency and the alias "AlphaRaccoon," by identifying an account opened with an Italian identification card. Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, was arrested in New York and subsequently released on a $2.25 million bond.
Polymarket has affirmed its cooperation with the investigation, with a spokesman emphasizing the transparent and traceable nature of blockchain trading. The platform noted that "bad actors leave footprints" on its system, facilitating law enforcement efforts.
This case highlights potential vulnerabilities in how sensitive corporate information can be exploited, even on transparent blockchain-based platforms. The investigation underscores the challenges in policing insider trading in the digital age, particularly when involving novel prediction markets and cryptocurrencies.
