Indictment accuses Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke of using confidential information for personal profit
The US Attorney’s Office has indicted an active service member for using inside information to place bets on Polymarket.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed the indictment on Thursday, charging Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke in relation to the widely reported prediction market bets that were placed on the capture of former Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro.
The bets hit the headlines in January after a newly created Polymarket account won over $400,000 betting that Maduro would be captured before January 31.
Thursday’s indictment states that Van Dyke was actively involved in planning and executing the operation to capture Maduro, known as “Operation Absolute Resolve”, and accuses him of using his access to classified information about the operation to personally profit.
“Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply.”
Van Dyke is said to have been involved in planning the military operation since around December 8, 2025. On December 26 he created an account with Polymarket and used it to place approximately 13 bets on ‘Yes’ positions related to the capture of Maduro, the presence of US forces in Venezuela, a US invasion of Venezuela, and President Trump’s use of war powers against Venezuela.
As a result of the capture of Maduro in a pre-dawn raid on January 3, Van Dyke won $409,881 on bets totalling $33,034.
This money was then allegedly transferred to a foreign cryptocurrency wallet before being deposited into a newly created online brokerage account.
The indictment states that after the win became headline news, Van Dyke took steps to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account. He also changed the email address associated with his cryptocurrency account to an email address that was not subscribed to in his name.
“Today’s announcement makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation’s secrets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable.”
Van Dyke is charged with three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of an unlawful monetary transaction, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.