By Nancy Dillon
Publication Date: 2026-05-28 21:28:00
A Google engineer got an early look at insider data showing singer D4vd would be the surprise upset winner of Google’s “Most Searched” person of 2025 title, and he used the highly confidential information to cash in with Polymarket bets, federal authorities say.
Michele Spagnuolo not only bet that D4vd would win the title, he also placed wagers that other prominent figures, including Kendrick Lamar, Donald Trump, Pope Leo XIV, and Bianca Censori, would not claim the distinction, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York and obtained by Rolling Stone.
Authorities claim Spagnuolo ultimately pocketed more than $1.2 million from about two dozen trades placed between Oct. 15 and Dec. 4 of last year with “near-perfect accuracy” thanks to his alleged access to the nonpublic tallies. Spagnuolo, who lives in Switzerland and traded on the Polymarket platform using the name “AlphaRaccoon,” was charged Wednesday with…