Google engineer charged with insider trading after making $1.2M on Polymarket
The DOJ says a Google engineer used confidential Search data to make more than $1.2 million betting on Polymarket.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Federal prosecutors allege a Google software engineer traded on confidential company information to profit on Polymarket, a prediction market. Google says the employee breached policy and has been placed on leave.
A Google worker is accused of using secret company information to guess the outcome of bets on Polymarket, a place where people wager on future events. Prosecutors say that helped him win a lot of money.
It is like sneaking a peek at the answers before a quiz and then betting on them. Even if the betting site looks new and digital, using secret information is still treated like cheating.
Google says the worker broke company rules and has been put on leave. The case matters because it shows that old rules about honest trading can still apply to new kinds of online betting.
Analysis
Allegations
The U.S. Justice Department charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with insider trading, saying he used confidential Google business information to make more than $1.2 million trading on Polymarket. Prosecutors say he used the name "AlphaRaccoon" on the platform and worked at Google for over 12 years.
According to the complaint, Spagnuolo allegedly put more than $2.7 million at risk on wagers tied to Google’s 2025 Year in Search campaign. The government says he accessed internal Search data about the most-searched celebrities and used that information to inform his bets.
Platform and company response
Polymarket said it worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the CFTC, and described itself as the only prediction platform so far whose cooperation has led to insider-trading charges in the U.S. The company also said blockchain trading is transparent and traceable, and that bad actors leave footprints.
Google said it is working with law enforcement. In a statement, the company said the employee accessed marketing material with a tool available to all employees, but that using confidential information to place bets is a serious policy breach. Google said it has placed the employee on leave and will take appropriate action.
Why it matters
The case connects a major tech company, a prediction market, and federal enforcement in one story. It shows that betting products can trigger familiar market-abuse concerns when users try to profit from nonpublic information.
Key points
- The DOJ charged a Google software engineer with insider trading tied to Polymarket.
- Prosecutors allege he used confidential Google Search data to profit from bets.
- The complaint says he made more than $1.2 million and risked over $2.7 million.
- Polymarket says it cooperated with prosecutors and the CFTC.
- Google says the employee breached policy and has been placed on leave.
