Google worker charged for using internal data to make $1.2m on Polymarket

A Google engineer has been charged with insider trading for allegedly using confidential company information to place profitable bets on the prediction market Polymarket, according to federal prosecutors^[1][2].

Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen living in Switzerland, was arrested and charged with breaking insider trading laws^[1][2]. Prosecutors allege he used early access to internal Google data to place bets on the platform, winning a total of $1.2 million^[1][2]. The U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, which worked with the FBI on the investigation^[1], stated Spagnuolo placed $2.7 million in bets related to Google between October and December of last year^[2]. He was released on a $2.25 million bond^[1]. A Google spokeswoman said the company was cooperating with law enforcement and that the employee had been placed on leave, calling the alleged actions a "serious breach of our policies"^[1]. A Polymarket spokesman said the platform "worked closely" with authorities, noting that "blockchain trading is transparent, traceable, and bad actors leave footprints"^[1]. According to court papers, Spagnuolo's most lucrative alleged wins involved correctly predicting Google's most-searched person for 2025, a result he allegedly knew in advance^[2]. He reportedly bet against other names and chose the singer D4vd when the platform's odds for that outcome were near zero^[2]. Spagnuolo did not respond to a request for comment^[1].