Prosecutors say Van Dyke was involved in planning the operation and used confidential knowledge to place 13 trades linked to Venezuela and Maduro. Authorities also allege he later tried to conceal the activity by moving funds to cryptocurrency accounts and requesting deletion of his account.
DOJ Arrests US Soldier for Prediction Market Bets
The US Department of Justice arrested an active-duty Army soldier accused of using confidential military information to profit from trades made on Polymarket before the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
According to prosecutors, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, allegedly used classified knowledge about a planned US military operation to place successful bets on a prediction market platform, which earned him more than $400,000.
Press release from the US Department of Justice
Authorities say Van Dyke was directly involved in planning and carrying out the January mission that led to Maduro’s arrest. Prosecutors claim he signed nondisclosure agreements, which means he was legally required to protect sensitive information.
Despite this, investigators allege he opened an account in late December and began placing trades linked to Venezuela and Maduro’s future. These trades reportedly included predictions about whether Maduro would be removed from power by the end of January and whether US forces would enter Venezuela. In total, officials say he placed 13 bets worth more than $33,000.
When Maduro was captured on Jan. 3, several of those contracts paid out. This generated profits of approximately $409,881. Prosecutors further allege that Van Dyke then tried to hide his identity and the source of the funds. They claim he moved much of the money into foreign cryptocurrency accounts and later requested that the platform delete his account. Investigators viewed these actions as efforts to conceal the alleged misconduct.
Van Dyke now faces multiple criminal charges, including violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and unlawful monetary transactions. If convicted on all counts, he could face decades in prison.
In addition to the criminal case, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a separate civil complaint seeking financial penalties, restitution, and repayment of the profits.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated that no one is above the law and warned that anyone abusing access to national security information for personal gain would be prosecuted.
