Google engineer charged with insider trading on Polymarket

The U.S. Justice Department has charged Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo with insider trading. Federal prosecutors allege that Spagnuolo, who has worked at Google for over 12 years, used confidential company business information to generate $1.2 million in profits on the prediction market platform Polymarket. Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, stated that Spagnuolo violated the duties he owed to his employer by using Google’s confidential business information to secure the trading profits. Clayton noted that insider trading compromises market integrity and described the actions as greed-driven conduct that must be investigated and prosecuted.

According to the complaint, Spagnuolo risked over $2.7 million on wagers related to Google’s 2025 Year in Search marketing campaign. This annual campaign is a marketing initiative in which Google reveals the most popular searches of the year. Spagnuolo allegedly accessed confidential, internal Google Search data about the most-searched celebrities to inform his bets on the prediction platform.

Polymarket worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a U.S. financial regulator, during the investigation. A spokesperson for Polymarket stated that the platform is the only prediction market to date whose cooperation has led to insider trading charges in the United States. The spokesperson emphasized that blockchain trading is transparent and traceable, meaning bad actors leave footprints, and stated that the platform is committed to working with regulators and law enforcement to maintain fair markets. This case follows a separate action where a U.S. Army soldier was charged for allegedly using insider knowledge of a military operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to make $400,000 on Polymarket.

Google confirmed that it is working with law enforcement on the investigation. A Google spokesperson stated that the company has placed the employee on leave and will take appropriate action. Regarding the breach, a Google spokesperson stated: “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,“

Why it matters

This case highlights the growing regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets and the risks of using internal corporate data for speculative betting, marking a significant moment for platform accountability.