Gannon Ken Van Dyke Charged With Using Classified Intel To Profit From Polymarket Bets On Maduro Raid

A U.S. special forces soldier was arrested and charged after federal prosecutors said he used classified information about the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to profit from prediction market bets on Polymarket.

Axios reported that the Department of Justice announced the arrest on Thursday, describing the case as involving “using classified information about the raid to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to profit from prediction market bets.”

1News

The soldier, identified across outlets as Gannon Ken Van Dyke, was described by CNBC as a “U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant” who was arrested for allegedly making “extremely profitable bets” tied to the mission.

CBS News said Van Dyke made bets “of more than $33,000” on Polymarket within hours of President Trump’s January announcement that Maduro had been captured, and that the bets resulted in winnings of “more than $409,000.”

NBC News put the figure at “approximately $33,034” bet total and said he “ultimately made more than $409,000.”

The Justice Department said Van Dyke “was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve,” which prosecutors said apprehended Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in early January, according to CNBC.

CBS News said Van Dyke was a communications specialist supporting Joint Special Operations Command, and that he was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina at the time of the alleged crime.

The arrest also triggered a broader regulatory and political focus on prediction markets, with Axios noting it was “the first time the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed charges of insider trading in connection with event contracts.”

Prosecutors’ account, as described by multiple outlets, ties Van Dyke’s alleged trading to specific dates around the January operation to capture Maduro.

CNBC said Van Dyke wagered “a total of about $33,000 in 13 or so bets in the week leading up to that operation,” and that the bets won “nearly $410,000.”

ABC News

Axios reported that the indictment alleges Van Dyke created a Polymarket account in December and began trading on markets related to Maduro and Venezuela, spending “more than $33,000 to place 13 bets that yielded him a profit of nearly $410,000.”

NBC News said the Justice Department alleged he made “approximately 13 bets from Dec. 27, 2025, through the evening of Jan. 26,” and that he was charged with “unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.”

CNN described the betting window as “13 bets from December 27 to January 2, the last being hours before the overnight capture,” and said prosecutors alleged he sent “his more than $400,000 in profits to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before he deposited them in an online brokerage account.”

The Hill said Van Dyke allegedly asked Polymarket to delete his account on “Jan. 6,” claiming he had lost access to the associated email account, and changed the email registered to the crypto account where he sent his profits.

NBC News similarly reported that “Van Dyke ‘asked Polymarket to delete his Polymarket account, falsely claiming that he had lost access to the email address.’”

Axios also reported that Van Dyke “signed nondisclosure agreements in which he promised to 'never divulge, publish, or reveal by writing, words, conduct, or otherwise ... any classified or sensitive information' relating to military operations.”

The case’s central legal argument, as presented by prosecutors and repeated by outlets, is that Van Dyke violated trust by using classified information to place trades on Polymarket.

Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was quoted by Axios and CBS News in nearly identical language, saying, “Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain.”

Clayton also said the defendant “allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit,” and that “That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was quoted by DW and NBC News, with DW attributing to Blanche: “Van Dyke participated in the planning and execution” of the operation and “used his access to classified information about that operation to personally profit.”

DW also quoted Blanche’s statement that “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.”

FBI assistant director in charge James C Barnacle Jr was quoted by Axios and the Guardian, with the Guardian describing Barnacle’s rebuke that the conduct was a betrayal to fellow soldiers.

Polymarket’s response was consistent across outlets: the company said, “When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation,” and added, “Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof the system works.”

CNN and NBC News both reported that Polymarket posted the same language on X, and NBC News included a second Polymarket statement referencing “our enhanced market integrity rules to combat insider trading.”

The arrest quickly became part of a wider debate over prediction markets and insider trading, with outlets describing both regulatory action and political reactions.

Axios said the case lands as “regulators and lawmakers intensify scrutiny of prediction markets,” and it framed the filing as a test of “how aggressively authorities pursue insider trading tied to sensitive government information.”

Anchorage Daily News

Axios also said it was “the first time the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed charges of insider trading in connection with event contracts,” and noted the CFTC used the “Eddie Murphy Rule” from Section 746 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

CNBC similarly described the arrest as coming “as Polymarket and Kalshi have grown in popularity and as concerns have grown about people with inside information making wagers on those prediction market platforms.”

CNN reported that “Lawmakers in Congress have introduced more than a dozen new bills this year to further regulate prediction markets,” and said some bills would “stiffen penalties against government officials who engage in insider trading.”

The Hill reported that Polymarket and Kalshi rolled out additional restrictions on insider trading “last month,” and said Kalshi “launched ‘new technological guardrails’ to block politicians, athletes and other relevant people trading in certain markets.”

Trump’s public remarks also fed the political dimension: CNN quoted him saying, “That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team,” and said he added, “The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino.”

NPR and PBS described how the charges arrived as the prediction market industry faced scrutiny and as the U.S. government’s stance toward Polymarket shifted between administrations, including the Biden administration’s crackdown and the Trump administration’s “warmer reception.”

The outlets also laid out what Van Dyke faces if convicted and what the case could mean for future enforcement.

“US soldier charged with using classified intel to win $400K Polymarket bet on Maduro raid US soldier charged with using classified intel to win $400K Polymarket bet on Maduro raid WASHINGTON (AP) — A U”

Associated Press

Axios said Van Dyke was charged with “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,” and it added that he faces “three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, each of which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.”

Associated Press

CNBC described the maximum exposure as “up to 10 years in each of the remaining counts” and said the top criminal count carries a maximum possible sentence of “20 years in prison.”

DW reported that if convicted on all counts, he faces “up to 50 years in prison,” while the New York Post said he faces a maximum of “60 years in prison if convicted.”

NBC News said Van Dyke’s federal case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett, and it reported that “The court docket does not list his next appearance.”

NBC News reported that the CFTC “seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.”

FBI Director Kash Patel was quoted by the Guardian and USA Today warning that “Any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable,” and the Guardian said Patel wrote, “Investigation ongoing.”

The case’s immediate procedural posture included an initial court appearance in North Carolina, with CNN reporting he “will make his first court appearance in North Carolina.”