Google engineer charged with using confidential company data to profit on Polymarket

The US Department of Justice has charged a Google software engineer with using confidential internal data to place bets on prediction market platform Polymarket

The case is shaping up as one of the first federal cases directly linking corporate AI infrastructure access to online wagering.

The accused, identified as Michele Spagnuolo, is a 36-year-old Italian national residing in Switzerland who worked on security and AI-related infrastructure projects within Alphabet. According to a federal indictment filed in New York, Spagnuolo placed approximately $2.75m in wagers on Polymarket markets connected to sensitive information about Google's internal trends and developments, using an account under the username "AlphaRaccoon." 

The operation ran from October through December 2025 and yielded profits exceeding $1.2m.

James C. Barnacle Jr., Deputy Director of the FBI, stated that Spagnuolo had access to confidential trends within Google and allegedly exploited that information for personal financial gain. The charges filed against him include violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud and money laundering.

Jay Clayton, District Attorney for New York, said: "The charges today reinforce a message that goes back decades: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to gain advantages in our markets."

The case arrives as prediction markets face mounting pressure from regulators and lawmakers. Both Polymarket and Kalshi introduced updated market integrity rules in March 2026, expanding restrictions on insider trading across their platforms following prior scrutiny over suspicious activity linked to geopolitical events. 

Despite those measures, critics have argued that enforcement remains reactive rather than preventive, particularly as the volume of capital flowing through these platforms continues to grow.