Google Employee Accused of Using Confidential Search Data to Make $1.2 Million on Polymarket
Authorities claim that 36-year-old Michele Spagnuolo used Google’s confidential “Year in Search” data to place bets on search trends before the information was publicly released.
U.S. prosecutors this week charged a Google employee with insider trading, alleging that the software engineer used confidential company information to make over $1.2 million through bets on prediction market platform Polymarket.
Google Employee Accused of Insider Trading
According to a complaint filed in New York, officials identified the employee as Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen living in Switzerland who has worked at Google since 2014. Prosecutors allege that, using the online alias “Alpha Raccoon,” Spagnuolo accessed Google’s 2025 “Year in Search” data before it was published and used it to place bets on which people would become the most searched personalities of the year.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said on Wednesday that the charges reinforce a long-standing message: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to make profits in financial markets.
“Insider trading damages the integrity of our markets, and the American public expects greed-driven misconduct like this to be investigated and prosecuted,” Clayton said.
How the Google Employee Allegedly Used Confidential Search Data
Between October and December last year, as Google’s internal search data shifted, Spagnuolo allegedly adjusted Polymarket trades accordingly. For example, prosecutors say Spagnuolo initially bet that Kendrick Lamar — who headlined the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show — would top Google’s search trends. However, when Google’s internal data later showed that alternative pop singer D4vd was becoming more heavily searched, a new bet was reportedly placed.
D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged last month in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
The complaint states that Spagnuolo used Polymarket’s “yes” or “no” event contracts to place several other trades predicting whether certain individuals would rank in Google’s 2025 search trends. Once the data was officially released on December 4, the Alpha Raccoon account reportedly earned substantial profits. An FBI investigation later traced cryptocurrency payments connected to the activity.
Spagnuolo’s attorney was not immediately identified. Google, based in California, confirmed to the Associated Press that the employee has been placed on leave.
In a statement, a Google spokesperson said:
“The employee used tools available to staff to access marketing materials, but using confidential information for betting purposes is a serious violation of our policies.”
The company also said it is cooperating with law enforcement and will take “appropriate action.”
Polymarket also confirmed that it has been cooperating with authorities. A company spokesperson noted that Polymarket is “the only prediction platform to date connected to insider trading charges in the United States,” adding that blockchain-based trading is “transparent, traceable, and bad actors leave evidence behind.”
Spagnuolo is not the first person accused of insider trading linked to Polymarket bets. Last month, prosecutors charged a Special Forces soldier who allegedly earned more than $400,000 betting on the downfall of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Authorities claim the soldier used classified information obtained before a January U.S. military operation in which he participated.
These events have brought attention to the quickly expanding and frequently contentious realm of online prediction markets, where transactions take place continuously. Prediction markets are not subject to the same regulations as traditional gambling because they sell event contracts. This has led to continuing legal discussions about government supervision and consumer protection.
President Donald Trump’s administration has already shown support for prediction market operators and has filed lawsuits against several states attempting to regulate them. Meanwhile, the industry is trying to build public trust by introducing stricter safeguards.
Polymarket recently updated its rules to clearly state that users are prohibited from trading contracts if they possess confidential information or have the ability to influence the outcome of an event.
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