Google employee charged with using insider data to rig bets on Polymarket
Summary
A Google software engineer has been charged by the US Justice Department for using secret company information to win $1.2 million by placing bets on Polymarket, a prediction market. The engineer allegedly bet on people who would appear on Google’s most-searched list before the information was public.Key Facts
- Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old Google engineer and Italian citizen, is charged with insider trading related to bets on Polymarket.
- He used confidential Google data about the most-searched people on the internet to place winning bets.
- Spagnuolo made a big profit betting on indie musician D4vd to be the most-searched person after his arrest, a result few thought likely.
- He also bet on rapper Kendrick Lamar to top the list in October, based on Google's internal data.
- Spagnuolo’s bets were made under the account name “AlphaRaccoon.”
- He lives in Switzerland and has been placed on leave by Google.
- Google is cooperating with law enforcement and considers using secret company information for betting a serious violation.
- Polymarket helped authorities with the investigation and is the first prediction market linked to insider trading charges in the US.
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