Justice Department Charges a Fort Bragg Soldier With Using Maduro Raid Secrets to Win $409,881 on Polymarket

On April 23, 2026, the Justice Department unsealed charges against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, alleging he used classified information about Operation Absolute Resolve, the operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, to place bets on the prediction market Polymarket. Prosecutors say he opened an account around December 26, 2025 and placed roughly 13 wagers totaling about $33,034 that U.S. military action would occur in Venezuela by January 31, 2026, netting approximately $409,881 after Maduro was apprehended January 3. They allege he routed proceeds through cryptocurrency before depositing them in a brokerage account. He was charged with three Commodity Exchange Act counts, wire fraud and unlawful monetary transaction, and pleaded not guilty.

The case appears to be the first federal prosecution for trading a prediction market on advance knowledge of a U.S. military operation, arriving as such markets grew with regulatory encouragement from the administration.

The case is proceeding in the Southern District of New York before U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett.