By Blessing Nweke
A Google software engineer has been charged in the United States for allegedly using confidential company data to make more than $1.2 million through bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket, in what prosecutors describe as a major insider trading case tied to online wagering markets.
Federal prosecutors in New York said Michele Spagnulo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen living in Switzerland, used internal Google search data to place profitable bets between October and December 2025. He faces charges including commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
According to court documents, Spagnulo allegedly accessed nonpublic Google search trend information through an internal company tool available to employees. Prosecutors said he then used the information to wager on outcomes linked to Google’s annual “Year in Search” rankings before the results became public.
Authorities said Spagnulo operated under the username “AlphaRacoon” and earned the bulk of his profits after correctly betting that singer D4vd would become Google’s most-searched person of 2025. At the time the wager was placed, Polymarket reportedly assigned almost no chance to that outcome.
Prosecutors also accused him of attempting to hide the origin of the profits after collecting the winnings. Google confirmed it is cooperating with investigators and said the employee has been placed on leave. The company described the alleged conduct as a serious breach of its policies.
Poly market said its cooperation with law enforcement helped lead to the charges and stressed its commitment to maintaining fair and transparent markets. The case follows another recent federal prosecution involving alleged insider trading activity on the prediction market platform.
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