🧐 The U.S. CFTC Accuses a Google Employee of Insider Trading on Polymarket, Profiting Approximately $1.2 Million The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that Google software engineer Michele Spagnuolo is accused of illegally trading prediction contracts on Polymarket to profit approximately $1.2 million, and is charged with fraud and money laundering. The contracts in question pertained to “Who Will Be the Most Searched Person in 2025?” In its complaint, the CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Michele Spagnuolo in the same court. Additionally, according to The Wall Street Journal, Michele Spagnuolo last year used Google Year in Search data—accessible only to a select group of employees—to place bets on Polymarket regarding the year’s most popular search figures, placing bets through the account “AlphaRaccoon” across 25 trades. He accurately predicted that Kendrick Lamar and d4vd would rank among the top five.