Google engineer charged by US Department of Justice for allegedly using inside information to profit $1.2 million on Polymarket
Odaily Planet Daily News: The US Department of Justice has charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with using confidential internal Google information to trade on the prediction market Polymarket, illegally profiting approximately $1.2 million.
Court documents show that Michele Spagnuolo, using the account "AlphaRaccoon" on Polymarket, placed bets totaling over $2.7 million on events related to Google's "Year in Search 2025" list. He is suspected of accessing internal Google data on the most searched personalities in advance to guide his trades.
US prosecutors stated that his actions allegedly violated confidentiality obligations to his employer and constitute insider trading. Google has confirmed that the employee has been suspended and is cooperating with law enforcement investigations. Polymarket stated that it has cooperated with US prosecutors and the CFTC, noting that blockchain transactions are transparent and traceable. (TechCrunch)
