A Google information security engineer has been taken into custody following federal charges of money laundering, commodities fraud, and wire fraud. Prosecutors allege that Michele Spagnuolo exploited his access to confidential internal data to secure a $1.2 million profit through illicit bets placed on the prediction market platform Polymarket.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Spagnuolo utilized an internal Google software tool to gain nonpublic insights into the company’s ‘Year in Search’ data for 2025. Operating under the pseudonym ‘AlphaRaccoon,’ he allegedly placed highly accurate wagers on search trends, including the identity of the year’s most searched individual. Suspicious activity surrounding the account was initially flagged by platform observers in December, shortly after the official search results were published.

In addition to the criminal charges, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched a civil case against Spagnuolo, citing his involvement in multiple prediction markets, including bets on television show rankings and political figures. The engineer was released on a $2.25 million bond following his initial court appearance.

Google has confirmed that it is cooperating fully with law enforcement and has placed the employee on administrative leave. The company emphasized that while the internal tools used to access the data are available to staff for legitimate marketing purposes, the misuse of such information for personal financial gain represents a severe violation of corporate policy. Polymarket has also stated its commitment to working with regulators to ensure market integrity in the wake of these charges.