The U.S. Department of Justice charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with insider trading, alleging that the employee made $1.2 million in trades at Polymarket based on confidential business information.
Spagnuolo, who used the name “AlphaRaccoon” at Polymarket, has worked at Google for more than 12 years, according to information on LinkedIn.
“Spagnuolo violated his duty to his employer and used Google’s confidential business information to generate more than $1.2 million in trading profits at PolyMarket,” Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a press release. “Insider trading undermines the integrity of our markets, and the American people want these rapacious practices investigated and prosecuted.”
Prediction markets like Polymarket, Kalshi, etc. allow users to bet on almost anything. Insider trading is illegal and therefore not allowed on these platforms, but some users still commit the crime. The Justice Department recently charged a U.S. soldier with using inside knowledge of U.S. military operations to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in order to make $400,000 from Polymarket.
According to the complaint, Spagnuolo placed more than $2.7 million in bets related to Google’s 2025 search terms, a marketing campaign in which Google reveals the world’s most popular search terms for the year. Spagnuolo reportedly accessed confidential internal Google search data on the most searched celebrities to inform his bets.
“Polymarket has worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the CFTC, and to date, we are the only forecasting platform whose collaboration has resulted in insider trading charges in the United States,” a Polymarket spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Blockchain transactions are transparent, traceable, and leave a footprint for malicious actors. We are committed to maintaining an accurate, fair, and transparent marketplace, enforcing our rules, and collaborating with regulators and law enforcement.”
A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company is cooperating with law enforcement to investigate.
“The employee accessed our marketing materials using tools available to all employees, but using such confidential information to place bets is a serious violation of our policies,” Google said in an emailed statement.
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