Overview
- Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have unsealed charges against Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo for violating the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and money laundering.
- Authorities allege Spagnuolo, using the handle “AlphaRaccoon,” accessed nonpublic Google search‑trend data to place and adjust Polymarket wagers and realized more than $1.2 million in profits from roughly $2.75 million of wagers.
- Prosecutors say the trades ran from October 15 to December 4, 2025, and that the markets resolved in his favor after Google publicly released the data on December 4; the FBI traced related cryptocurrency payments.
- Google placed the employee on leave, Polymarket says it cooperated with investigators, and prosecutors are using blockchain records alongside traditional fraud and money‑laundering tools in the case.
- The prosecution follows other enforcement actions tied to prediction markets and could push platforms to tighten rules, spur more regulatory scrutiny from the CFTC and DOJ, and raise compliance risks for employees with access to confidential data.