Google employee arrested over insider information used on Polymarket, profited over $1 million
Source: 9to5Google
Overview
Prediction‑market betting has surged in recent years, allowing participants to profit from correctly forecasting real‑world events. However, the use of insider information is a recurring problem. A Google employee was recently arrested for profiting from non‑public information on Polymarket related to Google’s 2025 “Year in Search.”
Incident Details
- Employee: Michele Spagnuolo, information security engineer at Google.
- Platform: Polymarket.
- Profit: Approximately $1.2 million from a bet on who would be the most‑searched‑for person in 2025.
- Outcome: The bet correctly identified “d4vd,” a singer‑songwriter who topped Google’s 2025 Year in Search rankings. (See the official results here.)
The market had assigned a “near‑zero probability” to d4vd becoming the #1 searched person, making the profit unusually large.
Legal Complaint
The complaint alleges that Spagnuolo:
- Leveraged his position at Google to obtain confidential marketing material about the upcoming Year in Search rankings.
- Used that non‑public information to place the bet.
- Attempted to hide the source and ownership of the proceeds, constituting deliberate concealment.
Google’s Response
Google issued a statement confirming that Spagnuolo has been placed on leave and that the company is cooperating with law enforcement:
“We’re working with law enforcement on their investigation. 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.”
Charges
Spagnuolo faces federal charges of:
- Wire fraud
- Money laundering
- Commodities fraud
Source: Reported by ABC News.