Google Engineer Charged With Using Internal Data to Win $1.2 Million on Crypto Bets

Overview

• Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Google engineer Michele Spagnuolo with electronic fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering after an arrest that took place on Wednesday, according to court filings and multiple reports.
• Prosecutors allege Spagnuolo used pre-release Google search data to place large cryptocurrency bets on Polymarket under the account name AlphaRaccoon and realized about $1.2 million when Google published its Year in Search 2025 results.
• Investigators say Spagnuolo placed wagers in late 2025 that bet against public favorites and on D4vd when markets gave that outcome near-zero odds, then took steps to obscure the origin and ownership of the winnings.
• Polymarket and law enforcement worked together using blockchain transaction records to trace the trades, and regulators have lodged parallel civil action seeking penalties and restitution in addition to the criminal case.
• The episode highlights how transparent but pseudonymous crypto ledgers can still leave investigative trails and could push companies and regulators to tighten confidentiality rules for employees who access nonpublic data.