Google Security Engineer Arrested in Million-Dollar Polymarket Trading Scheme

A Google security technologist has been charged with crimes stemming from allegedly placing trades connected Polymarket utilizing confidential interior accusation from the tech giant. Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen, was arrested this greeting successful New York, arsenic archetypal reported by ABC News.

Spagnuolo is charged with 1 number each of commodities fraud, ligament fraud, and wealth laundering. He has worked astatine Google since 2014 and was based retired of the company’s Zurich, Switzerland offices.

According to the complaint, Spagnuolo placed trades connected Polymarket from astir October 2025 to December 2025 utilizing interior Google data. In 1 instance, helium netted $1.2 cardinal trading connected who Google’s most-searched idiosyncratic of the twelvemonth would beryllium successful 2025, correctly predicting that the victor would beryllium D4vd, a erstwhile obscure vocalist who became the taxable of aggravated nationalist scrutiny aft helium was suspected of murder. (D4vd was yet charged successful the lawsuit successful April.)

“Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the result of these wagers earlier the trading nationalist did due to the fact that helium had accessed Google’s confidential, commercially invaluable interior data,” FBI cause Brandon Racz wrote successful the complaint.

This is the 2nd known apprehension successful the United States for illicit enactment connected prediction markets. In April, a US Army peculiar forces serviceman was arrested for allegedly placing bets connected markets related to the seizure of erstwhile Venezuelan person Nicolás Maduro. Both cases person been brought by the Southern District of New York.

OpenAI fired an worker earlier this twelvemonth for utilizing insider accusation to marque trades connected a prediction platform, but this is the archetypal clip that a tech idiosyncratic has been arrested for their alleged activity.

Polymarket has travel nether occurrence from lawmakers for its estimation arsenic a hub of amerciable activity. Last week, House Committee connected Oversight and Government Reform president James Comer launched an probe into insider trading connected prediction markets platforms and requested accusation from Polymarket astir however the institution vets its customers. There are 2 versions of Polymarket: a smaller level that is ineligible successful the United States, and a overmuch larger offshore mentation that is technically blocked successful the US and wherever traders usage cryptocurrency to spot their wagers.

"We’re moving with instrumentality enforcement connected their investigation. The worker accessed our selling worldly utilizing a instrumentality disposable to each employees, but utilizing specified confidential accusation to spot bets is simply a superior breach of our policies. We’ve placed the worker connected permission and volition instrumentality the due action,” Google spokesperson Jaclyn Vazquez said successful a connection to Wired.

"Polymarket worked intimately with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the CFTC, and is the lone prediction level to day whose practice has led to insider trading charges successful the United States,” Polymarket spokesperson Connor Brandi told WIRED. “Blockchain trading is transparent, traceable, and atrocious actors permission footprints. We are committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets arsenic good arsenic enforcing our rules and moving with our regulators and instrumentality enforcement.” In a societal media post, Polymarket said the apprehension was the effect of a referral it made to authorities.

Anyone tin hint enactment connected Polymarket’s crypto-based platform, since each of the wallet transactions are public. Spagnuolo allegedly made his trades utilizing an relationship with the idiosyncratic sanction AlphaRaccoon, which Polymarket watchers had agelong speculated whitethorn person belonged to a Google insider, since the likelihood of correctly predicting the answers to the questions helium wagered connected were truthful improbable.

Earlier this month, Michael Selig, president of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is tasked with regulating prediction markets successful the US, told WIRED that the bureau was utilizing artificial quality tools to hunt for marketplace manipulation and insider trading successful the industry.