Google engineer charged with insider Polymarket bets poised to lose millions in stock grants: report

The Google engineer charged with illegally using inside information to win bets on Polymarket could end up losing millions of dollars in stock and other compensation after his arrest, according to a report published Monday.

Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old software engineer, was charged by the Department of Justice last week with wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly earning $1.2 million through his scheme – which involved using nonpublic Google data to win bets on which celebrities, such as rapper Kendrick Lamar, would appear among the “most-searched” people in the world.

Spagnuolo – who used the alias “AlphaRaccoon” on Polymarket – was promoted several times during his 12-year stint at Google, which awards stock grants in addition to high salaries for its workers. His most recent title is “staff information security engineer,” according to his LinkedIn account.