Google engineer charged by U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly using insider information to make $1.2 million in profits on Polymarket

Odaily Planet Daily News: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo, accusing him of using Google’s internal confidential information to trade on the prediction market Polymarket, illegally earning approximately $1.2 million.

According to the indictment, Michele Spagnuolo used the account "AlphaRaccoon" on Polymarket to place bets totaling over $2.7 million on events related to Google’s "2025 Year in Search" list. He is suspected of obtaining Google’s internal data on the most searched personalities in advance to guide his trades.

U.S. prosecutors stated that his actions allegedly violated his duty of confidentiality to his employer and constituted insider trading. Google said the employee has been suspended and the company is cooperating with law enforcement investigations. Polymarket stated that it has cooperated with U.S. prosecutors and the CFTC, adding that blockchain transactions are transparent and traceable. (TechCrunch)