In brief
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a 38-year-old special forces soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, has been charged with unlawful use of classified information after allegedly profiting from predicting the outcome of the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He placed bets on Polymarket, a prediction market, using insider knowledge and could face several years in prison if convicted.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Army special forces soldier involved in the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is set to appear in court as he faces charges for allegedly utilizing classified information to win over $400,000 in a prediction market.
Federal prosecutors claim that Gannon Ken Van Dyke used his classified access to monetize his knowledge of the operation executed in January on the site Polymarket.
Van Dyke, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, faces multiple charges, including unlawful use of government information and commodities fraud, which could result in years of imprisonment. He has not yet secured legal representation.
He was involved in both planning and execution phases of the operation against Maduro for approximately a month. Despite signing agreements to keep operations confidential, he allegedly made bets on Maduro being out of power by January 31, 2026.
According to the FBI, “This involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation.”
Polymarket has reported notifying the Justice Department upon discovering potential illegal activity on its platform, leading to an investigation. The enormous profits garnered from Van Dyke's bets raised concerns over the integrity of prediction markets and resulted in calls for tighter regulations.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also filed a complaint against him, asserting that he transferred $35,000 from his personal account to a cryptocurrency exchange prior to the mission, and placed a series of bets right before the operation unfolded.
“The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way,” noted Michael Selig, the commission’s chairman.
