Overview
- Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed a criminal complaint on May 27 that accuses Michele Spagnuolo of using nonpublic Google 'Year in Search 2025' data to place Polymarket bets that yielded about $1.2 million.
- Spagnuolo was arrested in New York, released on a $2.25 million bond, and faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering while the CFTC filed a parallel civil action seeking penalties and disgorgement.
- Polymarket says it flagged the anonymous AlphaRaccoon account for suspicious, highly accurate Google‑related trades and cooperated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the CFTC during the investigation.
- Google has placed the employee on leave, confirmed he accessed internal marketing and search analytics via an internal tool, and said it is working with law enforcement while calling the conduct a serious policy breach.
- The case highlights a wider enforcement trend in which regulators and researchers use blockchain traceability and automated surveillance to detect insider misuse of proprietary corporate or government data on prediction platforms and could prompt tighter platform controls and new rules.