Google employee charged with using inside information to make $1 million on Polymarket
In this Dec. 19, 2023, file photo, a sign is posted in front of an office at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) — A Google employee fraudulently made more than $1 million by using inside information to place Polymarket bets on what users were searching for on Google, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in New York.
For Michele Spagnuolo, these were sure bets because, as a Google software engineer, he had access to company data that tracked user searches, according to the complaint, which said Spagnuolo “misappropriated confidential and valuable nonpublic information from his employer and used that information to place a series of Google-related bets on Polymarket, a prediction market platform.”
Spagnuolo, 36, is charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
“Unlike the counterparties to his trades, Spagnuolo knew the outcome of these wagers before the trading public did because he had accessed Google’s confidential, commercially valuable internal data,” the complaint said.
He correctly bet — using an account under the name AlphaRaccoon — that Google’s most-searched person in 2025 would be the singer known as D4vd, according to the complaint. At the time he placed that bet, the prediction market Polymarket “assigned a near-zero probability to d4vd being ‘the #1 searched person on Google this year,'” the complaint said.
After Google publicly announced its Year in Search 2025 results on Dec. 4, 2025, Spagnuolo’s AlphaRaccoon account profited $1.2 million on his Google Year in Search 2025-related bets, federal prosecutors said.
“Once he won, Spagnuolo then took deliberate steps to conceal his unlawful use of nonpublic information by attempting to obscure the source and ownership of his unlawful proceeds,” the complaint said.
Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen, was arrested Wednesday morning in New York, where he appeared briefly before a federal magistrate judge.
He did not enter a plea and was released on a $2.25 million bond, secured by $1 million cash, $50,000 of which needs to be posted Wednesday.
A Google spokesperson, responding to the charges against Spagnuolo, said in a statement, “We’re working with law enforcement on their investigation. 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. We’ve placed the employee on leave and will take the appropriate action.”
This is the second case involving Polymarket that the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has brought this year.
A U.S. special forces soldier, Gannon Van Dyke, pleaded not guilty last month to making fraudulent bets on Polymarket about the raid that ousted Nicholas Maduro from Venezuela. Van Dyke was positioned to know about the raid because he helped to plan it and took part in it, prosecutors said.
Terrion Arnold is seen in a booking photo released by the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office on June 24, 2026. (Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office)
(TAMPA, Fla.) — A judge in Florida set Detroit Lions NFL cornerback Terrion Arnold’s bond at $1 million on Monday, denying the prosecutors’ request that he remain held without bond on charges alleging he orchestrated a kidnapping in which three men were robbed and beaten at gunpoint.
The 23-year-old NFL player is one of seven people arrested in connection with the “targeted armed robbery” last February in Tampa, police said.
Arnold is accused of “coordinating and directing” the codefendants in an alleged conspiracy to “lure” the three men to an apartment, where prosecutors say they were beaten in retaliation for the alleged theft of more than $200,000 worth of Arnold’s personal property from an Airbnb in which he had stayed with friends days earlier in Largo, Florida, according to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.
Arnold surrendered to authorities on Wednesday and was initially denied bond following his arrest on multiple armed robbery and kidnapping charges. He faces a potential sentence of up to life in prison if convicted on the charges, prosecutors said.
A county prosecutor alleged during a detention hearing in Tampa on Monday that Arnold was “the reason why this gets set in motion.”
“There’s three individuals that had guns pointed in their faces because of this defendant,” Kevin Riley, an attorney with the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, said.
Defense attorney Harvey Steinberg asked the judge not to find probable cause. He argued that the evidence presented so far only shows that Arnold was “suspicious” that his phone was taken and wanted to confront someone, but that there is “zero evidence” that he was aware that there was going to be a beating or guns involved.
“Did my client direct them? Nope,” Steinberg said.
Judge Christopher Sabella found there was probable cause, calling the case “serious,” but denied the state’s motion to detain Arnold ahead of trial. He set bond at $1 million, saying the amount was “consistent with the serious nature of the charges.”
Among the bond conditions, Arnold must surrender his passport and is only allowed to leave his residence for work or legal purposes.
The state had asked that Arnold be required to wear an ankle monitor, which the judge denied after Arnold’s defense argued that the monitor would make him unable to work due to strict NFL requirements regarding attire.
“I don’t want to interfere with his ability to make a living,” Sabella said, adding that he suspects Arnold will have a “paparazzi monitor” that will make his whereabouts known.
“If he shows up on a beach in Tahiti, he’ll be on social media,” Sabella said. “If he violates the conditions of his bond, he will be found.”
Arnold, who was in handcuffs during the court appearance, could be seen smiling with his attorneys following the hearing.
The incident occurred on Feb. 4, three days after multiple items belonging to Arnold and others were stolen from an Airbnb he had rented, according to police. On Feb. 3, Arnold and others reported a loss totaling more than $250,000 to the Largo Police Department, police said.
The men, all in their late teens, were allegedly beaten and pistol-whipped by two of the co-defendants, while a third streamed the assault to Arnold and other suspects who were traveling to the apartment, police said. Investigators uncovered a group chat in which Arnold and another suspect allegedly gave directions during the assault, police said.
After arriving at the apartment, Arnold allegedly directed the other suspects to go inside, at which point the victims were robbed during the ongoing assault, police said. Their wallets, phones, jackets, cash and jewelry totaling more than $6,200 were stolen, according to the criminal report.
Nearly two hours after arriving at the apartment, the victims were escorted out by armed suspects and left in their vehicle, police said. Arnold never entered the apartment or interacted with the victims, based on the police statement.
The victims reported the incident to Tampa police and “positively identified the suspects,” police said. The three victims had “visible injuries from being battered,” police said.
Arnold allegedly suspected that two of the three victims were responsible for the theft, though investigators ultimately determined that none of them were involved, Tampa police said.
Cell phone evidence and “corroborating testimony” from the co-defendants also “helped establish Arnold’s role in planning and directing the crimes,” the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said.
Among the six codefendants arrested in connection with the case, four men are being held without bond, while two women pleaded guilty on Wednesday to robbery and kidnapping charges, according to the state attorney’s office. As part of their plea agreements, they are required to testify truthfully in proceedings related to the case, the office said.
Arnold’s sports management team said he “categorically denies any involvement in the matters underlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence.”
“There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations,” Denise White, CEO of EAG Sports and Entertainment Agency, said in a statement to ABC News. “Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences.”
Following Monday’s hearing, White said the the judge’s ruling “confirms that there is very little evidence to even suggest any criminal involvement by Mr. Arnold.”
The Lions said in a statement to ABC Detroit affiliate WXYZ that they are “aware of the legal situation” involving Arnold and “will not comment at this time out of respect for the ongoing legal process.”
Arnold, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, played at the University of Alabama and was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft.
Law enforcement gather evidence at the scene of a state trooper-involved shooting in LaPorte County, Indiana, July 10, 2026. (WLS)
(CHICAGO) — An Indiana state trooper is recovering in a hospital after he was shot by a suspect Friday who was being pursued by law enforcement across two states in a stolen car.
Indiana State Police later found the unidentified suspect dead following a manhunt.
The incident began around 5:30 a.m., when officers were in pursuit over a stolen truck in Berrien County, Michigan, which ultimately continued to LaPorte County, Indiana, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said during a news conference.
The unidentified suspect allegedly drove into a cornfield to elude police and ultimately got on I-94 and then US-421 in Indiana, Fifield said.
The suspect and the unidentified officer collided in Michigan City, Indiana, and the suspect allegedly began firing, according to Fifield.
Even though he was hit several times, the trooper was able to return fire before the suspect got back in the truck and fled, according to Fifield.
The trooper was transported to the hospital and was listed in stable condition, according to the police.
The wounded officer was in surgery and in good spirits, according to Fifield.
Investigators located the truck around 9:16 a.m. in a tree line in the Westville, Indiana area, Fifield said.
Officials urged those in the area to remain indoors and report anything suspicious as they continue to search for the suspect in that wooded area, Fifield said. About 100 officers were searching for the suspect, he added.
Around 1:15 p.m., Fifield said that the suspect was found deceased and that he had injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News that preliminary information suggests the suspect died of a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA on 9/8/04. (Photo by Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Sarah Kellen, a longtime personal assistant to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, told the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by the late financier for over a decade, according to a copy of her prepared opening statement obtained by ABC News.
“He groomed me, sexually and psychologically abused me, controlled me, manipulated me, dominated me, and gaslit me, until I could no longer tell which thoughts were mine, and which were his,” the statement said.
The closed-door session was part of the panel’s ongoing inquiry into the federal government’s handling of investigations into the late sex offender.
Kellen, 47, was previously a subject of criminal investigations but has never been charged — due, in part, to her own allegations of persistent sexual abuse at the hands of the disgraced financier, according to court documents and records released earlier this year by the Justice Department.
Kellen, in her statement, said she was recruited for the job as Epstein’s assistant by a co-worker at a hotel in Hawaii, where she had gone to live after getting married at 17 years old. She claimed that after a divorce and ex-communication from her church, she was completely alone and “a perfect target” for Epstein.
“I was 21 years old, far from where I grew up, stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere, with no college degree, no family, no friends, no money, and nowhere to live,” she said.
Her job with Epstein, she said, began as a period of training where she traveled with him on his private jet to his homes in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida and New York, where she says she was “surrounded by unimaginable luxury.”
“After months of unpaid labor, he instructed me to draw him a bath on his island, then ordered me to undress and get in with him, and he said, ‘The job is yours. Now you just have to keep it,'” she said in the statement. “He then pulled me onto his bed and made clear what ‘keeping the job’ required. Only after I submitted to his sexual abuse did the paychecks begin.”
Kellen told the committee that Epstein’s abuse happened on a “weekly basis” and was at times violent, including an incident in Palm Beach where she says he violently choked and raped her.
“I was being paid in part to be raped. I was on call to him every hour of every day,” her statement said.
Kellen said she continues to suffer from depression, anxiety and PTSD as a result of Epstein’s abuse.
Kellen was one of four women named as potential co-conspirators in the non-prosecution agreement reached in 2007 between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Miami.. She told the committee that she was completely in the dark about the agreement and had no idea her name was in it until it became public a few years later.
“No one from law enforcement ever spoke with me, ever heard my side, ever asked me a single question. I did not even know my name was in that agreement until after it had been signed and released to the public. The federal government of the United States branded me a criminal in a secret deal with my own abuser, without ever once speaking to me,” the statement said.
Anticipating questioning from committee members about why she stayed with Epstein — even after he went to jail for a crime involving an underage girl — she explained that she felt she had “nowhere else to go.”
“I had no money, no family, no education, and no sense that I deserved any better,” her statement said.
She also noted that Epstein’s connections to the “highest echelons” of society made her fearful of defying him.
“He knew everyone in the fashion industry, academics, finance, government, powerful world leaders, dictators, and everyone in between,” her statement said. “From the beginning, he showed me that he was more powerful than basically anyone in the world.”
“Jeffrey was able to fool and manipulate the brightest minds in the world; us victims didn’t stand a chance,” the statement said. “I was a high school dropout from North Carolina. I was a silent body in a chair beside men who started and ended wars. I understood, completely, that if Jeffrey could walk into those rooms, he could walk into any room in the entire world. He could find me anywhere on earth.”
Kellen’s appearance at the Capitol comes as the committee ramps up for a busy stretch of its investigation, which was officially launched in February of last year. Other notable witnesses scheduled in the coming months include Epstein’s longtime executive assistant Leslie Groff, former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Goldman Sachs chief counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, and billionaires Bill Gates and Leon Black.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), has indicated that a report on its findings will be produced before the end of the year.
Following Epstein’s death in custody in July 2019, federal prosecutors in New York investigating possible collaborators engaged in discussions with Kellen and her attorneys that spanned more than a year. Documents released by the DOJ earlier this year included prosecutors’ internal assessments of a potential case against Kellen and emails from her attorneys trying to dissuade the government from filing charges.
“We feel that given [Kellen’s] abuse, and given the fact that we see her basically as a cog in Epstein’s wheel, acting entirely at his direction and doing what she did at a time that she herself was a very vulnerable victim, a [non-prosecution] would be the appropriate disposition,” an attorney for Kellen wrote in the spring of 2020.
According to DOJ records, the government did not dispute that Kellen “was herself a victim of abuse by Epstein,” noting that her account was consistent with others who worked for Epstein and allegedly experienced sexual exploitation.
Prosecutors detailed in a proposed “statement of facts” sent to Kellen’s attorneys in late 2020 that several “minor victims reported to federal agents that Epstein paid them for sexualized massages while they were underage girls, including during massages that [Kellen] scheduled.”
Kellen conceded that Epstein directed her to schedule his daily massages in the early 2000s when he was staying in his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, according to the DOJ records. She claimed she was provided a directory of names and instructed on who to call, and denied having knowledge that some who came to the house were underage.
She told prosecutors she viewed the “masseuses as her peers — i.e. young adults in their early 20s — and it never [crossed] her mind that any of them were minors,” government lawyers wrote in a December 2019 memo summarizing their investigation for Geoffrey Berman, then the top federal prosecutor in New York.
Kellen said she “only learned that Epstein was sexually abusing minors when news articles started coming out about it” in the mid-2000s, according to the records. “She recalled being shocked, angry, and disappointed. She was particularly angry with Epstein for manipulating her to help orchestrate the abuse of other women,” the records said.
Federal prosecutors ultimately decided against charging Kellen, though the internal deliberations that led to that outcome are unclear. Much of the legal analysis in the prosecution memos remains redacted in the publicly available versions of the DOJ records.
Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell remains the only other person charged in connection with Epstein’s crimes. She is serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison camp in Texas. Maxwell is presently seeking to have her conviction vacated or her sentence reduced.
Kellen — who has largely avoided public comment surrounding the Epstein investigation — told a reporter from a British paper who approached her on the street in New York in 2020 that she was “raped and abused weekly.”
“I have been made out to be such a monster — but it’s not true. I’m a victim of Jeffrey Epstein,” Kellen said, according to the U.K. Sun report.
An attorney who represented Kellen during discussions with federal prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment ahead of Kellen’s appearance in Washington, D.C.
