U.S. Soldier Charged With 5 Felonies for Using Classified Information to Trade Polymarket

U.S. Army Soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke is facing five felony charges for using sensitive classified information about the imminent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to profit $409k from winning wagers placed on prediction marketplace Polymarket.

What's the Scoop?

• Insider Trades: On or about December 26, 2025, Van Dyke – an active duty U.S. Army soldier who was involved in the planning Operation Absolute Resolve (the military operation that captured Venezuelan President Maduro) – created a Polymarket account, funded it, and began trading on Maduro- and Venezuela-related markets. In total, Van Dyke allegedly placed approximately 13 bets totaling $33,034 on such outcomes while in possession of classified nonpublic information about Operation Absolute Resolve.
• Attempted Obfuscation: After profiting $409,881, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity by deleting his Polymarket account and changing his exchange email to an unlinked address.
• Five Felonies: 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.
• Clear Violation: "Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton via statement. "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. That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law."
• Polymarket Cooperation: In a post to X, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan noted that his prediction market platform cooperated with regulators to make this arrest. "We flagged this, referred it, and cooperated throughout the process. This happens constantly behind the scenes, despite what many are led to believe."