FBI Busts Google Insider for Rigging 2025 Year In Search Bets.
Google Engineer Charged by FBI for $1.2M "Year In Search" Insider Betting Scheme on Polymarket The FBI has officially charged Michele Spagnuolo , a Switzerland-based Google software engineer, with wire fraud and money laundering. Federal investigators allege that Spagnuolo exploited his high-level internal access to leak Google’s proprietary "Year In Search" rankings, using the confidential data to place illicit bets on the decentralized prediction market, Polymarket , netting over $1.2 million in profit . The "AlphaRaccoon" Operation: Rigging the Prediction Market According to the FBI’s criminal complaint, Spagnuolo operated under the pseudonym "AlphaRaccoon" using a cryptocurrency wallet (0xAf6...). Ahead of the official 2025 Year In Search announcement, Polymarket had listed dozens of betting pools, including: Top Search Rankings: 24 specific queries regarding who would take the #1 spot. Top 5 Placements: 24 additional queries regarding wh...