Federal prosecutors allege the software engineer used internal data to place Polymarket trades in Google search results.
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Federal authorities announced on May 27 that a Google software engineer is the latest person to be indicted in connection with a prediction market insider trading scheme.
Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian national and Google employee based in Switzerland, accessed confidential information through Google’s internal data in order to make $1.2 million in polymarket bets, federal prosecutors said. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where the case is being prosecuted, said in court documents that Spagnuolo conducted transactions related to trends in Google search data.
“Today’s indictment reinforces the decades-old message that corporate insiders cannot exploit confidential business information to profit from the marketplace,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “Insider trading undermines the integrity of our nation’s markets, and the American people want this greedy practice investigated and prosecuted.”
Spagnuolo is charged with merchandise fraud, wire fraud and money laundering stemming from a scheme to misuse confidential information of his employer, prosecutors said.
The New York City incident is the latest incident involving insider trading in prediction markets. A new financial forum allows users to bet on everything from the Super Bowl to the development of Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russian aggression.
In April, a U.S. Army special forces member involved in the raid to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was indicted in connection with a scheme to earn approximately $400,000 through polymarket bets made in the raid.
Spagnuolo’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. The 36-year-old was charged with fraud and money laundering and could be sentenced to up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
USA TODAY has reached out to Polymarket for comment. After Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke was indicted in connection with the Maduro gambling scheme, the platform’s founders cooperated with the investigation and indicated they will continue to help federal prosecutors uncover potentially illegal polymarket transactions. It is unclear whether such assistance was provided in Mr. Spagnuolo’s case.
According to the federal indictment, Spagnuolo used the alias “AlphaRaccoon” to conduct polymarket transactions related to Google’s 2025 search results. Data released annually shows top searches from around the world. The results are based on an analysis of sensitive search data the company stores as part of its advertising efforts.
Approximately 4 billion people use search engines, and year in search results are highly anticipated by enthusiasts for what they reveal about users’ interests. Among bets, Polymarket users traded the most searched passes of the year. What are the top results? Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered while speaking on a college campus in September.
Spagnuolo made polymarket trades based on Google’s results for the top five most searched people in 2025, including a winning bet that D4vd, the rapper accused of murdering a 14-year-old girl, would be the most searched person of the year, according to federal court filings. The market’s predicted probability that a 21-year-old music artist would be the most searched person was almost 0%.
Spagnuolo also placed bets on people he expected to appear at the top of search results, including Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump.
