A Google employee has been arrested in the United States over allegations that he used confidential company information to place profitable bets on the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform, Polymarket.
US prosecutors charged Michele Spagnuolo, a Google engineer and Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, with violating insider trading laws after allegedly making more than $1.2 million from bets linked to unreleased Google data.
Spagnuolo was arrested on Wednesday and appeared before a federal judge in New York. Authorities said he has since been released on a $2.25 million bond.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Spagnuolo allegedly exploited internal Google information obtained through his role at the company to place strategic bets on Polymarket between October and December 2025.
Investigators said he wagered approximately $2.7 million on events related to Google trends and search data, using early access to confidential marketing materials and internal analytics before the information became public.
The court filings alleged that some of his most profitable bets involved predicting the most searched person on Google in 2025. Prosecutors claimed Spagnuolo correctly bet that singer D4vd would top the search rankings at a time when the betting odds for that outcome were considered extremely low.
Authorities alleged that Spagnuolo knew D4vd had become Google’s most searched person because he had access to internal search trend data before its public release.
The FBI said Spagnuolo allegedly operated under the Polymarket username “AlphaRaccoon” and used multiple cryptocurrency accounts to conceal his activities. Investigators reportedly linked the accounts after discovering one registered with an Italian identification card.
Google confirmed it was cooperating with law enforcement authorities and stated that the employee had been placed on leave pending the investigation.
A Google spokesperson described the alleged conduct as a serious violation of company policy, noting that while the internal tool used was accessible to employees, confidential information must not be used for personal financial gain.
Polymarket also confirmed it had assisted authorities during the investigation, stating that blockchain transactions are transparent and traceable.
Spagnuolo, who has reportedly worked at Google for more than 12 years in information security, did not respond to requests for comment.
