A Google employee is facing federal fraud charges after prosecutors accused him of secretly using internal company search data to place winning bets on prediction markets before the rest of the internet knew what was trending. According to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in New York, 36-year-old Google information security engineer Michele Spagnuolo allegedly used confidential Google search analytics to make more than $1.2 million through Polymarket, a crypto-based betting platform where users wager money on future outcomes.
The bets were not sports bets or casino wagers. Prosecutors say Spagnuolo allegedly bet on prediction markets tied to Google search trends, specifically wagers asking who would become the most-searched person on Google in 2025.
One of those bets reportedly focused on singer D4vd.
Authorities claim Spagnuolo used internal Google data to see search traffic trends before they were released publicly through Google’s annual Year in Search rankings. Prosecutors allege he realized D4vd’s name was rapidly climbing in searches after the singer’s April 2026 arrest in Los Angeles, then used that knowledge to place bets predicting D4vd would finish the year as Google’s most-searched person.
At the time the bets were placed, prosecutors say public prediction markets viewed D4vd’s chances as extremely low. But investigators claim Spagnuolo already knew the real search numbers internally.
When Google officially released its Year in Search rankings on Dec. 4 and D4vd appeared as the top trending name, the bets allegedly paid out for massive profits.
“Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did,” prosecutors wrote in the complaint, alleging that he used “confidential, commercially valuable internal data” to gain an unfair advantage.
Polymarket has become one of the internet’s fastest-growing prediction platforms, allowing users to place crypto wagers on news events, politics, entertainment, and celebrity-related outcomes. The platform operates similarly to a stock market, where odds shift depending on what users believe will happen.
Federal prosecutors charged Spagnuolo with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Authorities also allege he attempted to conceal where the betting profits came from after cashing out.
D4vd, born David Burke, became one of the most searched names online after his arrest on charges including first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains connected to the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The criminal case remains ongoing, and he has not been convicted.
Google confirmed it is cooperating with investigators.
“The employee accessed our marketing material using a tool available to all employees, but using such confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of our policies,” a company spokesperson said.
