A Google software engineer, Michele Spagnuolo, has been charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering for allegedly using confidential company information to make over $1.2 million in profits on a prediction market platform. Spagnuolo, known by the alias “AlphaRaccoon” on Polymarket, was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District of New York.
According to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, Spagnuolo allegedly misappropriated Google's confidential business information to place profitable trades. “Corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets,” Clayton said, adding that “insider trading compromises the integrity of our markets.” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr., echoed this, stating Spagnuolo “abused his elevated access to confidential trends to place bets with nonpublic information.”
The complaint alleges that Spagnuolo, a software engineer, accessed Google's internal data systems, including a tool marked “Google Confidential.” Despite certifying his understanding of Google's confidentiality policies, he created an “AlphaRaccoon” account on Polymarket in May 2024. Between October 15 and December 4, 2025, Spagnuolo risked approximately $2.7 million on markets related to Google's internal information, ultimately profiting around $1.2 million after the information became public.
Spagnuolo, 36, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, faces one count of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, and one count each of wire fraud and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.