Google employee accused of major fraud related to Polymarket in D4vd case<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nA Google employee has been accused by US authorities of the biggest fraud<\/p>\n
The US Justice Department has accused Google software engineer Michelle Spagnuolo of using insider information to rig bets related to Google’s most searched lists on prediction market Polymarket and profit off $1.2 million, according to a complaint.<\/p>\n
A 36-year-old Google employee and Italian citizen living in Switzerland are accused of using confidential information to gamble on the results of Google’s annual most searched list, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Spagnuolo allegedly used insider information to bet on long-shot candidates such as indie pop musician D4VD, who appeared on Google’s most-searched list after he was arrested for the murder of a teenage girl.<\/p>\n
According to Google data released on December 4, D4vd was the most searched person of the year and Spagnuolo reportedly used insider information when betting on November 27 that D4vd would top the list.<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, this bet was particularly profitable because the market placed “near-zero probability” that D4vd would be the most searched person on Google.<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, Spagnuolo also used insider information when placing other bets based on Google’s most searched listings on an account called “Alpharecon.” He bet in October that rapper Kendrick Lamar would top the list, at a time when Google’s internal data showed that Lamar was on track to become the most searched person of the year.<\/p>\n
Spagnuolo lives in Switzerland, according to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. <\/p>\n
Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that prosecutors will pursue corporate insiders who seek to use confidential business information to make profits in prediction markets.<\/p>\n
“Insider trading compromises the integrity of our markets, and the American people want this greed-motivated conduct to be investigated and prosecuted,” Clayton said.<\/p>\n
Google said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement and that using confidential information to place bets is a serious violation of company policy. According to a Google spokesperson, Spagnuolo has been placed on leave.<\/p>\n
PolyMarket said it helped law enforcement investigate Spagnuolo’s activity, and is the only prediction platform to date to be charged with insider trading in the United States.<\/p>\n
In April federal prosecutors accused a U.S. Army soldier of using classified information to make Polymarket bets on the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n