A Google software engineer has been charged in federal court with using his employer's internal data to place bets on a prediction market and collect more than a million dollars.
Michele Spagnuolo faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, according to a report by Engadget. Prosecutors allege he accessed confidential Google marketing material and used it to bet on Polymarket that singer d4vd would be the top-searched person on Google for 2025. The bet paid off. Spagnuolo allegedly earned $1.2 million and then attempted to hide where the money came from.
Google confirmed the situation in a statement shared with ABC News. "We're working with law enforcement on their investigation," the company said. "The employee accessed our marketing material using a tool available to all employees, but using such confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of our policies. We've placed the employee on leave and will take the appropriate action."
The case is one of a growing number of insider trading incidents tied to prediction markets. Polymarket is a platform where users bet real money on the outcomes of real-world events, from elections to pop culture rankings. The format creates an opening for people with privileged knowledge to place bets they already know are likely to win.
Spagnuolo is not alone. Reported cases of prediction market abuse have involved an employee of YouTuber MrBeast, political candidates, and military personnel. Each case involved someone using information that was not publicly available to gain an edge on other bettors.
Polymarket introduced new rules in March specifically aimed at reducing insider trading on its platform. Whether those rules will hold back future abuse remains to be seen. The federal criminal complaint against Spagnuolo is one of the first of its kind to target this specific type of conduct on a prediction market, and it may signal that federal prosecutors are prepared to treat prediction market manipulation as seriously as traditional securities fraud.
