BREAKING NEWS: A Google security engineer, Michele Spagnuolo, was arrested by FBI agents in New York early yesterday morning after allegedly using confidential company information to make more than US$1.2 million (£895,661) on the prediction market platform Polymarket.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has charged Spagnuolo (pictured above) with breaking insider trading laws and using privileged Google information to place bets between October and December 2025.
The 36-year-old Italian citizen, who has worked for Google for 12-years and five months, was arrested in New York but is a full-time resident of Switzerland.
He is accused of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud and money laundering, carrying maximum sentences of 10- and 20-years, respectively.
Inside Bets
In connection with his role, Spagnuolo had access to Google’s internal data systems, including a software tool that provided him with access to confidential, non-public data.
Spagnuolo traded using the account AlphaRaccoon and first joined Polymarket in May 2024. He is accused of placing more than US$2.7 million (£2.01m) in bets between 15 October 2025 and 4 December 2025 based on the data.
He allegedly bought “Yes” or “No” shares on at least twenty-three of the 2025 Year in Search List contracts on Polymarket.com, including “#1 Searched Person on Google this year” and “Top 5 Most Searched People on Google 2025”, with what was described as near-perfect accuracy.
Unlawful
“Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did because he had accessed Google’s confidential, commercially valuable internal data,” FBI agent Brandon Racz wrote in the complaint.
“Once he won, Spagnuolo then took deliberate steps to conceal his unlawful use of nonpublic information by attempting to obscure the source and ownership of his unlawful proceeds,” the complaint said.
Spagnuolo, who appeared before a federal magistrate judge, was later released on bail after posting a US$2.25 million (£1.68m) bond.
Google said in a statement: “We’re working with law enforcement on their investigation.
“The employee accessed our marketing material using a tool available to all employees, but using such confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of our policies.
“We’ve placed the employee on leave and will take the appropriate action.”
Growing Trend
Prediction markets have exploded in popularity in the U.S. since the start of this year, with user demand increasing fivefold.
Spagnuolo’s arrest is the second high-profile U.S. case involving alleged insider trading on prediction markets.
In April, a Special Forces Army officer was accused of betting on the kidnapping of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Insider bets have also been reported in relation to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February this year.
