Google Engineer Charged With Using Confidential Company Data to Win $1.2M on Polymarket
Why It Matters
Federal prosecutors in New York have charged a Google software engineer with insider trading on a prediction market platform, marking the second significant criminal case tied to Polymarket and raising fresh questions about corporate data security and the regulatory boundaries of online betting markets.
What Happened
Michele Spagnulo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, was charged Wednesday with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, according to a federal complaint unsealed in New York City.
Prosecutors allege Spagnulo accessed internal Google search data — available through a tool open to all company employees — and used that confidential information to place a series of bets on Polymarket between October and December. Operating under the username “AlphaRacoon,” he wagered that singer D4vd would finish as Google’s most-searched person of 2025. At the time Spagnulo placed those bets, the prediction market had assigned a near-zero probability to that outcome.
He ultimately collected more than $1.2 million in winnings. Federal authorities allege he then took deliberate steps to conceal both the source and ownership of those proceeds.
Spagnulo did not respond to requests for comment. Google confirmed the employee has been placed on leave and that the company is cooperating with law enforcement. “Using such confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of our policies,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Polymarket, for its part, said it is “the only prediction platform to date whose cooperation has led to insider trading charges in the United States,” and affirmed its commitment to maintaining transparent and fair markets.
By the Numbers
- $1.2 million+ — total winnings Spagnulo allegedly earned through insider bets
- 3 charges — commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering
- Near-zero probability — the market odds assigned to D4vd before Spagnulo’s bets
- October–December — the window during which the allegedly improper wagers were placed
- 2 — the number of significant Polymarket insider-trading criminal cases now filed by federal prosecutors
Zoom Out
This case follows a separate arrest in April involving a U.S. Special Forces soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who was charged with using classified intelligence about a raid that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office to profit on Polymarket. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Together, the two cases signal that federal prosecutors are treating prediction market manipulation as a serious enforcement priority — applying the same insider-trading framework traditionally used for securities markets. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, who oversees the Southern District of New York, stated Wednesday that “corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets,” calling the conduct in this case “greed-driven.” The broader rise of prediction markets has attracted scrutiny over how existing commodity and securities laws apply to these platforms, a question that remains unsettled as the industry grows.
The case also surfaces an internal security challenge for major technology firms: employees with broad access to commercially valuable data can potentially exploit that information in markets outside traditional financial systems, where compliance monitoring has historically been less rigorous. For context on broader financial market conditions, see our recent coverage of Federal Reserve leadership and interest rate debates.
What’s Next
Spagnulo faces federal prosecution in New York. Because he is a foreign national living abroad, the logistics of any extradition proceedings remain a key near-term question. If convicted on all three counts, he could face substantial prison time and financial penalties under federal law. The Southern District of New York, which has historically led major financial crime prosecutions, is handling the case.
Google has not disclosed whether it plans further internal audits of employee access to sensitive search trend data. Polymarket’s cooperation with federal authorities in both this case and the Van Dyke matter suggests the platform is positioning itself as a compliant actor as regulators and prosecutors continue to define the legal perimeter around prediction market activity.