A US Army soldier was indicted Thursday on charges he used classified military information to make bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket, winning $400,000.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who worked out of Fort Bragg in North Carolina, was charged with felonies including fraud, larceny, and violations of restrictions around futures trading, federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced.
Van Dyke, prosecutors said, “was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve,” the military operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, “and had access to sensitive, nonpublic, classified information about that operation.”
Prosecutor says he used that information to place 13 bets between December 27, 2025, and January 2, 2026 — wagering more than $33,000 — in which he had an affirmative position on the question of whether the US would take action in Venezuela or against Maduro.
He is accused of sending his winnings to a foreign cryptocurrency vault, then to an online brokerage account, and of taking steps to conceal his identity.
No attorney for Van Dyke, 37, was listed in the court docket. Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Insider trading is a major issue for prediction markets, which say they outlaw the practice.
On Wednesday, Polymarket rival Kalshi said it had suspended and fined three candidates for political office for making trades related to their own elections. In February, Kalshi banned and fined a MrBeast editor, who it said had traded on markets related to YouTube streaming.
Van Dyke is facing a far harsher penalty if convicted: The most serious charge against him, wire fraud, carries up to 20 years in prison.
