US charges Google security engineer with Polymarket insider trading
Patch: Strengthen data access controls and enforce segregation of duties for confidential tools.
Patch: Strengthen data access controls and enforce segregation of duties for confidential tools.
Summary
A Google security engineer, Michele Spagnuolo, has been charged with insider trading after using confidential Year‑in‑Search data to place highly accurate bets on the Polymarket prediction market.
The 36‑year‑old, who has worked at Google since 2014, allegedly leveraged an internal tool marked “Google Confidential” to predict whether specific individuals would appear in Google’s top trending searches. Between October 2025 and December 2025, Spagnuolo placed bets on 25 unlikely outcomes, risking about $2.75 million and earning roughly $1.2 million in USDC.e. The FBI traced the Polymarket account “AlphaRaccoon” to the engineer’s name and linked it to a Swiss‑based wallet. Spagnuolo subsequently moved the proceeds through multiple cryptocurrency‑swapping services that anonymise the blockchain. The case underscores the importance of data access controls and segregation of duties for sensitive internal tools.
Key changes
- Engineer used Year‑in‑Search data to bet on Polymarket
- 25 bets on unlikely outcomes, risking $2.75 million, earned $1.2 million
- Internal tool marked “Google Confidential” accessed
- FBI traced account AlphaRaccoon to engineer’s name
- Proceeds moved through anonymising crypto‑swapping services
- Case highlights need for data access controls
- Engineer has worked at Google since 2014
- Charges include wire fraud and money laundering