Google Employee Charged With Insider Trading Over Online Betting Platform

A Google software engineer has been charged with fraud by US authorities after allegedly using insider information to win bets on a prediction market platform. Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, is accused of making trades on various markets linked to the results of Google’s 2025 Year in Search.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in New York, Spagnuolo used an account named “AlphaRaccoon” to make bets totaling approximately $2.75 million. The investigation alleges that Spagnuolo accessed confidential information at Google and used it to place successful bets on the results of the 2025 Year in Search.

Spagnuolo faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. A spokesperson for Google stated that using confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of company policy and that Spagnuolo has been placed on leave.

A Polymarket spokesperson confirmed that the company had worked closely with the US Attorney’s Office on the investigation and emphasized the importance of maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets. The spokesperson also noted that Polymarket is cooperating fully with law enforcement.

This case follows a previous incident in which a US soldier was charged with using classified military information to place bets on Polymarket regarding the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Prosecutors accused Gannon Ken Van Dyke of cashing in on the operation, resulting in losses of over $400,000.

Source: Al Jazeera