Google Engineer Busted By the DOJ For Insider Bet Tied to D4vd Murder Case

Singer David “D4vd” Burke became Google’s most searched person in 2025 after a teenage girl’s dead body was discovered in his Tesla. The shocking case paralyzed much of the country, many of whom didn’t know his name before the gruesome September 2025 discovery. So when a Google employee allegedly made a million-dollar bet in connection with the case, alarms were certainly raised.

Federal prosecutors have now accused a Google engineer of turning confidential search trend data into a $1.2 million betting profit on the prediction market platform Polymarket, according to the Department of Justice. Authorities are calling the case one of the most blatant examples of insider trading in the fast-growing world of online betting markets to date.

Michele Spagnuolo, 36, allegedly operated under the alias “AlphaRaccoon” when he used nonpublic company information to place lucrative bets tied to Google’s annual “Year in Search” rankings, according to the AP. He’s been charged in Manhattan federal court with commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Spagnuolo accessed internal Google search trend data before it was publicly released and used that information to make wagers on Polymarket contracts tied to the company’s year-end search rankings.

Spagnuolo allegedly wagered roughly $2.7 million between October and December 2025, generating more than $1.2 million in profits. Authorities said the engineer repeatedly adjusted his bets as Google’s internal rankings shifted in real time.

One of the bets centered on which celebrity would become Google’s most-searched person of the year. If you asked folks at the beginning of 2025, rapper Kendrick Lamar– the Super Bowl halftime performer– was sure to dominate.

But prosecutors said Spagnuolo shifted his position after internal data showed alt-pop singer D4vd surging in search traffic following the murder of Celeste Rivas. We previously told you the singer is facing serious prison time after authorities said he seduced, killed and dismembered Rivas.

The complaint against Spagnuolo alleged only a limited group of Google employees had access to the internal search metrics, which were marked “Google Confidential.” Authorities traced cryptocurrency transactions connected to the betting activity back to Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen living in Switzerland. He’s worked at Google since 2014.

Now, he’s been placed on leave.

“We’re working with law enforcement on their investigation,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “Using confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of our policies.”

Federal authorities have increasingly treated certain prediction market activity like regular financial trading– especially when participants allegedly profit from nonpublic information. Legal experts said the Google case could become a landmark test for how the Justice Department applies insider trading theories to betting platforms that exist outside traditional stock markets like Polymarket.

Spagnuolo was released on bond after an initial court appearance. If convicted on all counts, he could face decades behind bars.