Google Employee Allegedly Made $1.2M Betting on D4vd as 2025's Top-Searched Name in Insider Scandal

A Google engineer allegedly turned confidential company data into a massive payday after learning that singer D4vd was set to become Google's most-searched person of 2025, according to federal prosecutors.

Authorities claim Michele Spagnuolo used insider access to view highly restricted search trend rankings before they were publicly announced and then placed a series of calculated bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket. Prosecutors say the trades generated more than $1.2 million in profits with what they described as 'near-perfect accuracy.'

The case, unsealed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York and obtained by Rolling Stone, accuses Spagnuolo of using privileged internal information to wager not only on D4vd's unexpected rise but also against several globally recognised figures, including Kendrick Lamar, Donald Trump, Pope Leo XIV, and Bianca Censori. The 36-year-old, who lives in Switzerland and allegedly traded under the name 'AlphaRaccoon,' now faces multiple criminal charges tied to the betting activity.

How Prosecutors Say The Betting Scheme Worked

According to reports, Spagnuolo gained access to Google's confidential 'Year in Search 2025' data on 27 November and discovered that D4vd had overtaken Kendrick Lamar as the most searched person of the year. Prosecutors say that roughly three hours later, he began placing bets on Polymarket tied directly to those rankings.

Authorities claim his first wagers included a $381.12 bet predicting D4vd would finish in the top five and a separate $5 wager that the singer would ultimately claim the Number One spot. At the time, the possibility of D4vd leading the rankings was seen as extremely unlikely by the market.

'The market had assigned a near-zero probability to D4vd being "the #1 searched person on Google this year",' the complaint states.

Federal prosecutors allege that Spagnuolo continued placing highly targeted wagers over several weeks using his AlphaRaccoon account. The complaint says he bet $937,688 that Bianca Censori would not become the most searched person of the year and another $613,587 against Pope Leo XIV, securing the top position.

In total, authorities say the account risked approximately $2,754,092 across around 25 separate Google Year in Search 2025 prediction markets. Prosecutors claim those bets consistently aligned with confidential internal rankings that were unavailable to the public.

The case has drawn attention because D4vd was not viewed as a serious contender for the title before Google officially released its rankings. According to reporting cited in the complaint, Pope Leo XIV was widely considered the frontrunner before the final announcement, carrying 51.5 per cent odds of becoming the year's most-searched person. President Donald Trump followed with 9.5 per cent odds.

D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, was considered a long shot. His name had attracted headlines after the remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez were reportedly discovered in the front trunk of his towed Tesla in September. Burke has since been charged with murder. Despite the publicity surrounding the case, prosecutors noted that the market reportedly placed D4vd's odds as low as 0.2 per cent by the end of November.

Federal Authorities Accuse Engineer Of Abusing Confidential Access

Federal officials strongly criticised what they described as an abuse of insider access for personal financial gain. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton accused Spagnuolo of violating his obligations to Google and using confidential business information to enrich himself through prediction market betting.

'Michele Spagnuolo violated the duties he owed to his employer and used Google's confidential business,' Clayton said Wednesday, adding that the engineer would be held accountable for his 'greed-driven conduct.'

The FBI also weighed in on the allegations following the unsealing of the complaint. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said the case centred on the misuse of privileged company information that ordinary market participants did not have access to.

'Michele Spagnuolo allegedly abused his elevated access to confidential trends to place bets with nonpublic information and receive more than one million dollars in unlawful profits,' Barnacle said in a statement. 'The FBI remains dedicated to searching for fraudsters who betray their employer for personal financial gains.'

Spagnuolo has been charged with commodities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. At the same time, the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil lawsuit connected to the alleged scheme.

Authorities say the engineer was taken into custody and was listed Thursday at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center.