Google employee charged with using insider data to rig bets on Polymarket

US DoJ alleges software engineer Michele Spagnuolo, 36, earned $1.2m betting on Google’s most-searched list

The US justice department has charged a Google software engineer with using insider information to rig bets tied to Google’s most-searched list on prediction market Polymarket, earning $1.2m in profits, according to a complaint unsealed on Wednesday.

Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen, allegedly used insider information to bet on long-shot candidates like indie pop musician D4vd, who appeared on Google’s most-searched list after he was arrested and accused of murdering a teenage girl, according to the complaint.