Federal regulators filed a civil complaint against Michele Spagnuolo, a former Google software engineer, alleging he accessed confidential information about Google’s 2025 Year in Search results before public release. The complaint alleges he used that sensitive nonpublic information to trade prediction-market contracts on Polymarket. Regulators claim he traded on at least 23 contracts tied to Google search trends between October and December 2025, including markets such as top searched people. The complaint states he operated under the Polymarket username “AlphaRaccoon” and repeatedly bought “Yes” or “No” shares with unusual accuracy. Regulators estimate the trades produced approximately $1.2 million in profits. The case reflects growing regulatory scrutiny of insider trading risks in prediction markets.
"The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Wednesday (May 27) that it filed a civil complaint in federal court in Manhattan against Michele Spagnuolo, a Swiss resident who worked at Google during the period covered in the case. According to the agency, Spagnuolo allegedly accessed confidential search ranking information before Google publicly released its 2025 Year in Search list and then used that information to trade prediction-market contracts."
"The complaint says Spagnuolo "acquired sensitive nonpublic information concerning the results of Google's official Year in Search list for 2025" through his work at Google. Regulators said he was obligated to keep that information confidential and avoid using it for personal gain."
"Investigators claim he traded on at least 23 contracts connected to Google search trends between October and December 2025. The contracts reportedly included markets such as "#1 Searched Person on Google this year" and "Top 5 Most Searched People on Google 2025.""
"The CFTC alleges that Spagnuolo operated under the Polymarket username "AlphaRaccoon" and consistently bought "Yes" or "No" shares with unusual accuracy. Regulators estimate the trades produced "approximately $1.2 million in profits through his trading.""
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