A Google information security engineer stands accused of turning the company’s own secret search data into a personal goldmine on a popular crypto prediction platform.
Italian national Michele Spagnuolo, 36 years old, who is a long-time employee of Google from 2014 till now and is living in Switzerland, was apprehended by the authorities in New York City on May 27, 2026. According to the federal prosecutors, Spagnuolo made near $2.75 million worth of bets on the website Polymarket using the “Google Confidential” data regarding “Year in Search 2025.”
According to the criminal complaint, Spagnuolo, operating under the username “AlphaRaccoon,” had advance access to trending search information that ordinary bettors could not see. One of his biggest wins came from correctly predicting that indie singer d4vd would top Google’s global “most searched person” list for 2025 a longshot that Polymarket users had given almost no chance at the time.
Out of nowhere, attention spiked around d4vd just as news about him spread fast online. His songs were getting popular at the same time people started talking nonstop about Celeste Rivas, a teen who vanished in California. Details emerged linking the musician to the story, even if briefly. All this unfolded while the web lit up with searches tied to both fame and sorrow. That rush online seemed sudden but investigators believe Spagnuolo saw it coming well before others noticed.
“This is a clear case of misappropriating confidential and valuable nonpublic information from his employer,”
The complaint states.
“Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did.”
Spagnuolo is accused of having committed crimes involving commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, each carrying a potential penalty of 50 years in jail.He appeared before a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York and was released on a $2.25 million bond, secured in part by $1 million in cash. He has not entered a plea.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed parallel actions on the same day. The CFTC is seeking restitution of the $1.2 million in profits, civil penalties, and a permanent trading ban.
The core facts of the case are confirmed across multiple major outlets including ABC News, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, The Guardian, and official DOJ and CFTC filings. Google itself faces no accusations of wrongdoing. The allegations against Spagnuolo remain unproven in court, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Polymarket reportedly cooperated fully with investigators. Viral social media posts claiming much larger profits or implicating Google directly should be viewed with caution, as they exceed what court documents support.
Back-to-back, big-name cases now tie into Polymarket trades under scrutiny from Manhattan prosecutors this year. Earlier, in spring, authorities moved against Gannon Van Dyke a soldier accused of leveraging secret intel on a military operation in Venezuela to gain from a bet-like financial instrument.
One step ahead, legal watchers note the Spagnuolu trial might reshape how insider trading rules touch prediction markets. Not far behind comes a wave of new doubts this time around who keeps tech giants’ data locked down tight. With speed increasing, scrutiny grows on watchdogs to clamp down on loose ends across emerging bet-based platforms. Soon enough, silence won’t be an option for those meant to draw clearer lines.
Fresh clues emerge while agents trace Spagnuolo’s moves across markets and money shifts.
