A U.S. Army special operations soldier has been charged after federal prosecutors said he used classified information about the capture of Nicolás Maduro to make more than $400,000 on a prediction market. The Justice Department says Gannon Ken Van Dyke used nonpublic details about a secret military mission to place a series of profitable bets before the operation became public.
According to the Justice Department, Van Dyke has been 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. Reuters reported that he is an active duty master sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
What prosecutors say he did
Federal prosecutors say Van Dyke helped plan and execute “Operation Absolute Resolve,” the mission that led to Maduro’s capture in early January 2026. The indictment says he created a prediction market account on or about December 26, 2025, and placed 13 trades between December 27 and January 2 on contracts tied to Maduro’s removal and U.S. military action in Venezuela.
The Justice Department says those trades included “YES” positions on markets such as “Maduro out by January 31, 2026” and “U.S. forces in Venezuela by January 31, 2026.” After President Donald Trump publicly announced the operation on January 3, the contracts resolved in his favor, and prosecutors say he ultimately made about $409,881.
CFTC says this was insider trading
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a parallel civil complaint, calling the conduct insider trading. The agency said Van Dyke used his duty based access to sensitive government information to buy more than 436,000 “YES” shares on the Maduro contract and generated more than $404,000 in profits.
That makes this case stand out beyond one soldier and one military mission. Reuters said it appears to be the first insider trading case built around a prediction market, a fast growing area that has drawn more public attention in politics and global events.
How investigators say he tried to hide it
Prosecutors say Van Dyke did not stop after cashing out. The indictment alleges that after reports of unusual Maduro related trading appeared in the press and on social media, he asked the platform to delete his account, changed account email details, and moved most of the proceeds through a foreign cryptocurrency vault before shifting the money into a brokerage account. :contentReference{index=8}
As of April 21, 2026, the indictment says that brokerage account still held about $415,511 traceable to the trades. The CFTC complaint and criminal filing both say investigators were able to follow the flow of money despite those steps.
What Polymarket and officials said
Polymarket said in a public statement that when it identified a user trading on classified government information, it referred the matter to the Justice Department and cooperated with the investigation. The company added that insider trading has “no place” on its platform.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said service members trusted with classified information are prohibited from using it for personal financial gain. Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, added that prediction markets are not a safe space for people using stolen or misused confidential information to make money.
Why this case matters
This case lands at the intersection of national security, financial crime, and a new type of online market. It also raises a bigger question for regulators and the public: what happens when people with access to secret information can turn world events into private profit with just a few clicks. That is an inference based on the charges, the CFTC complaint, and Reuters’ reporting on the broader significance of the case.
For now, the core facts are stark. Prosecutors say a soldier trusted with one of the most sensitive U.S. operations of the year used that access to enrich himself before the world knew what was coming. Readers can review the SDNY announcement and the CFTC complaint summary for the official record.