A Google software engineer was arrested and charged with insider trading after allegedly using confidential internal search data to win $1.2 million on prediction market Polymarket. Michele Spagnuolo, operating under the alias 'AlphaRaccoon,' placed bets on who would be the most-searched people on Google in 2025 before the information was public. The FBI alleges he used his access to Google's internal systems to gain an unfair advantage in his trades.
Background
Prediction markets like Polymarket allow users to bet on the outcomes of future events, while Google's Year in Search data is highly anticipated annual information about the most popular search terms and people.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- May 29, 2026 at 03:01 AM
- Score
- 8.0 / 10