Google Engineer Charged with $1.2 Million Insider Trading on Polymarket

U.S. prosecutors in New York have filed insider‑trading charges against Michele Spagnuolo, a 36‑year‑old software engineer at Google. The indictment alleges that Spagnuolo used confidential Google “Year in Search” data for 2025 to place bets on the crypto‑based prediction‑market platform Polymarket, earning more than $1.2 million under the online alias “AlphaRaccoon.” The trades targeted contracts on which individuals would appear in Google’s search‑trend rankings, with the employee reportedly adjusting wagers as internal data updated from October to December.

Google placed Spagnuolo on leave and said it is cooperating with law‑enforcement authorities. Polymarket also confirmed its cooperation with the investigation. The case highlights regulatory challenges as decentralized prediction markets intersect with corporate confidential information, raising concerns about market integrity and future enforcement actions.