Observed Signal · May 28, 2026 · Criminal Charges · Source: Manager Magazin · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Google Engineer Charged Over Polymarket Insider Bets
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged a Google software engineer with using confidential internal Google data to place lucrative bets on the prediction market Polymarket. According to the indictment, the 36-year-old Italian resident in Switzerland placed $2.7 million in wagers across 25 Google-search-related outcomes and realized $1.2 million in profits. Prosecutors allege he used privileged access to Google’s internal search-ranking/marketing data to bet on outcomes— including that the musician D4vd would be the most-searched person—before results were public. Google says it is cooperating with investigators, has suspended the employee, and confirmed the activity violated company policies after the employee accessed marketing materials via an internal tool. Charges include wire/transfer fraud, money laundering and related offenses.
A criminal indictment involving misuse of internal search data at Google highlights risks around access controls, internal data governance and the potential monetization of privileged platform signals — issues materially relevant to platform trust, data governance and advertiser/publisher risk.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- U.S. Department of Justice indicted a Google software engineer for insider trading on Polymarket.
- Prosecutors allege the engineer placed $2.7 million in bets across 25 Google-search outcomes and earned $1.2 million in profit.
- The accused is a 36-year-old Italian citizen residing in Switzerland; charges include wire/transfer fraud and money laundering.
- Google suspended the employee, said he accessed marketing/internal tools available to staff, and is cooperating with investigators.
- One cited bet was that musician D4vd would top Google’s most-searched list after an arrest was reflected in Google data.
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Google employee charged for $1.2M Polymarket insider trading
Federal prosecutors charged Michele Spagnuolo, a long-time Google software engineer, with insider trading after allegedly using confidential internal Google Search data to make roughly $1.2 million in profits trading on prediction market Polymarket. A complaint filed in the Southern District of New York says Spagnuolo placed bets through an account called “AlphaRaccoon” and risked over $2.7 million on wagers tied to Google’s Year in Search 2025 marketing campaign by accessing internal search data about most-searched celebrities. Polymarket says it cooperated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the CFTC; Polymarket and regulators’ collaboration led to the charges. Google placed the employee on leave and said it is working with law enforcement after confirming the employee accessed marketing material via an internal tool. The case follows a prior Polymarket insider-trading prosecution involving an active-duty U.S. soldier earlier in 2026.
OpenAI Fires Employee for Insider Trading on Prediction Markets
OpenAI has fired an employee after alleging the worker used confidential OpenAI information to place trades on prediction markets such as Polymarket. The company told Wired the activity violated its policy prohibiting employees from using inside information for personal gain. The article notes prediction markets, including Polymarket and the regulated exchange Kalshi, allow wagers on real-world events and have markets about OpenAI product announcements and potential IPO timing. Kalshi recently fined and banned an editor associated with MrBeast for a separate alleged insider trading incident. OpenAI did not name the employee, and a company spokesperson emphasized the breach of internal policy. The story highlights enforcement actions and the scrutiny of prediction-market activity tied to corporate insiders.
Engineers Indicted for Stealing Google Secrets for Iran
A federal grand jury indicted three San Jose-based engineers — Samaneh Ghandali, Soroor Ghandali and Mohammadjavad Khosravi — on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google and other technology firms and transferring sensitive files to Iran. Prosecutors allege the defendants exploited positions at companies that develop mobile processors and obtained hundreds of confidential files related to processor security and cryptography, including proprietary Snapdragon SoC material. Authorities say the trio routed files through a third-party communications platform, copied data to personal and work devices, photographed protected screens, and sought to conceal their actions after Google’s security flagged suspicious activity in August 2023. The defendants were arrested and face counts including conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft/attempted theft of trade secrets and obstruction of justice; penalties if convicted include lengthy prison terms and fines.
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