Google Insider Allegedly Converts Confidential Data into $1.2M Polymarket Win

A Google software engineer, Michele Spagnuolo, allegedly used confidential internal Year-in-Search data and a tool available to all employees to place about $2.75 million in bets on Polymarket about Google’s 2025 Year in Search outcomes, earning roughly $1.2 million in profit before authorities intervened. He faces criminal charges for commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, plus a separate CFTC civil complaint; investigations describe attempts to conceal proceeds and link the trades to his Google access, with potential penalties including prison time if convicted.