Google Engineer Charged in $1.2M Polymarket Insider Bet
Prosecutors say the Google engineer used confidential search-trend data to place $2.75 million in wagers and win about $1.2 million on Polymarket.
- Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo was arrested Wednesday in New York after federal prosecutors unsealed charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, alleging he fraudulently made more than $1 million through Polymarket bets.
- Spagnuolo's access to Google's confidential search data enabled him to bet through an account named AlphaRaccoon that singer D4vd would rank as Google's most-searched person in 2025—a prediction Polymarket assigned near-zero probability to.
- Prosecutors alleged that unlike other traders, Spagnuolo "knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did because he had accessed Google's confidential, commercially valuable internal data." After winning, he "took deliberate steps to conceal his unlawful use of nonpublic information."
- Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen, was arrested in New York and scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate Wednesday, though it remained unclear whether he had secured legal counsel.
- This case marks the second prediction market prosecution by the Southern District of New York this year; soldier Gannon Van Dyke pleaded not guilty last month to similar charges involving Polymarket bets on the classified Venezuela raid that ousted Nicholas Maduro.
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Michele Spagnuolo appeared before a federal magistrate on Wednesday and was released on bail of $2.25 million
Which person was Googled the most in 2025? This engineer knew it in front of the public – and made the information on a betting platform into money. It is the second arrest for insider trading on forecast markets.
Google engineer arrested after allegedly using internal search data to win $1.2 million bet on singer D4vd
The accused murderer D4VD has not left the headlines for almost a year. The rapper was allegedly responsible for the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, but while the case was still ongoing, federal prosecutors believe that a Google employee was using insider information to place bets on him through Polymarket. TMZ reports that an Italian Google software engineer, Michele Spagnuolo, is being accused of using his access to confidential company data…
A Google Engineer Used Confidential Search Data to Win $1.2 Million on Polymarket, Feds Say — His Best Bet Involved an Alleged Killer
Michele Spagnuolo allegedly used internal data to bet on accused killer D4vd becoming Google's most-searched person of 2025.
Google engineer arrested for using internal search data to win $1.2 million on Polymarket
Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen who lives in Switzerland, was arrested on Wednesday and hauled before a federal judge in New York. Prosecutors say he made roughly $1.2 million by betting on outcomes he already knew.Read Entire Article
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