A Google employee has been sued for profiting over $1.2 million from insider trading on Polymarket using internal search data

According to Fortune, U.S. prosecutors this week charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo (36 years old, Italian, currently residing in Switzerland) with insider trading.

Prosecutors stated that under the username "AlphaRaccoon," he placed bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket using internal search trend data before the public release of Google's "2025 Search Annual" data, accumulating profits of over $1.2 million.

The FBI identified him by tracking cryptocurrency payments. Google has suspended him and stated that using confidential information to place bets severely violates company policy.

Spagnuolo is charged with violating the Commodity Exchange Act, telecommunications fraud, and money laundering, and could face years in prison.