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US prosecutors have charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with insider trading after he allegedly used confidential company data to place profitable bets on Polymarket. The case centers on wagers tied to Google’s 2025 Year in Search results, including bets on the most-searched person list.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court, Spagnuolo allegedly traded under the alias “AlphaRaccoon.” Prosecutors said he risked about $2.75 million between October and December 2025 and made more than $1.2 million in profits after the information became public.
Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen who lives in Switzerland, faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Authorities said he appeared before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District of New York after his arrest.
The complaint said Spagnuolo worked as a software engineer at Google and had access to internal systems that showed confidential business data. Prosecutors said some of the material carried a ‘Google Confidential’ label. They also said he had already certified his understanding of Google’s confidentiality and ethics rules.
US Attorney Jay Clayton said, “Today’s charges reinforce a decades-old message: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets.” He added, “As alleged, Spagnuolo violated the duties he owed to his employer and used Google’s confidential business information to make more than $1.2 million in trading profits on Polymarket.”
FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle Jr. also addressed the case. He said, “Spagnuolo allegedly abused his elevated access to confidential trends to place bets with nonpublic information and receive more than one million dollars in unlawful profits.”
Court papers said Spagnuolo used the Polymarket account name “AlphaRaccoon” to trade on markets linked to Google’s 2025 Year in Search results. Prosecutors said he placed several bets after accessing internal Google data before the company released the information to the public.
One alleged trade involved a market on the most-searched person on Google in 2025. Prosecutors said Spagnuolo correctly backed indie pop musician d4vd to top the list after checking confidential data. At the time, court papers said the market showed very low odds for that result.
Authorities also said Spagnuolo placed bets against other names, including Bianca Censori and President Donald Trump. According to the complaint, those wagers helped him build more than $1 million in profits from Google-related Polymarket markets.
The FBI said it linked the accounts used in the trades through one account opened with an Italian identification card. Prosecutors also said he used cryptocurrency from several accounts while trading on Polymarket.
Google said it is working with law enforcement on the investigation. A company spokesperson said the internal information came from marketing material accessed through a tool available to employees. However, the spokesperson said using confidential information to place bets “is a serious breach of our policies.”
Google has placed Spagnuolo on leave, according to the company. Spagnuolo did not respond to a request for comment cited in reports. Court records also show he has been released on a $2.25 million bond.
Polymarket said it worked closely with the US Attorney’s Office during the investigation. A company spokesperson said, “Blockchain trading is transparent, traceable, and bad actors leave footprints.”
The spokesperson also said Polymarket remains committed to “accurate, fair, and transparent markets” while working with regulators and law enforcement. The case follows another recent Polymarket-related charge, where US prosecutors accused a soldier of using classified information to place bets tied to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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