A Google employee was charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering for allegedly using confidential company data to trade on the Polymarket prediction platform. Michele Spagnuolo, a staff software engineer using the alias “AlphaRaccoon,” allegedly bet about $2.75 million on Google-related contracts and won roughly $1.2 million. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a parallel civil case seeking penalties and trading bans.
Federal prosecutors charged a Google employee with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. They allege confidential data was used to trade on Polymarket prediction markets. Michele Spagnuolo, a staff software engineer who used the alias “AlphaRaccoon,” allegedly bet about $2.75 million across Google-related Polymarket contracts from October 15 to December 4 last year. He allegedly won about $1.2 million from the predictions.
The criminal complaint states Spagnuolo had access to a Google internal tool providing “confidential, nonpublic Year in Search data.” The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a parallel civil complaint alleging violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. It seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil penalties, trading bans, and a permanent injunction.
This case is the second federal prosecution tied to alleged prediction market insider trading. A U.S. soldier pleaded not guilty last month to charges of using classified military information to profit from Polymarket bets related to Venezuela. A Polymarket spokesperson stated, “Blockchain trading is transparent, traceable, and bad actors leave footprints.”
A Google spokesperson told that using confidential information to place bets was “a serious breach” of company policies. Spagnuolo has been placed on leave as the company weighs “appropriate action.” Tre Upshaw, founder of Polysights, told that the case is “ultimately a positive moment for prediction markets.” He said it shows insider activity can be identified and prosecuted.
