DOJ Charges Soldier with Using Classified Info to Win $400k

^{U.S Attorney General Todd Blanche said using classified information for personal gain is prohibited with regard to prediction markets. (Photo: Mattie Neretin / CNP / Alamy)}

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that it was charging a U.S. Army soldier with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain after he allegedly made more than $400,000 on Polymarket by betting on the raid that captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

According to the DOJ, the soldier – identified as Gannon Ken Van Dyke – participated in planning the execution of “Operation Absolute Resolve” and used his access to classified information to profit on the prediction market platform.

Van Dyke Created Polymarket Account Days Before Operation

According to a press release, Van Dyke is also charged with theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

“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 gain,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply."

According to the indictment, Van Dyke has been an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. As part of his work, Van Dyke signed nondisclosure agreements regarding military operations.

The DOJ alleges that on or about Dec. 26, 2025, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and immediately began trading on markets related to Maduro and Venezuela. He placed bets over the next month on the “yes” side of markets asking if the U.S. would invade Venezuela by Jan. 31, 2026, whether Maduro would be out of office by Jan. 31, 2026, and other markets on related topics.

The U.S. apprehended Maduro and his wife in Caracas, Venezuela, in the early hours of Jan. 3.

According to the DOJ, Van Dyke bet a total of about $33,034 on these markets and made a profit of approximately $409,881. The indictment alleges that Van Dyke then sent most of his winnings to a cryptocurrency vault before depositing the funds into an online brokerage account.

The indictment also alleges that Van Dyke tried to cover up his association with the Polymarket account after media reports of suspicious trading on Venezuela-related markets were released in the days following the U.S. military raid. Van Dyke allegedly asked Polymarket to delete his account on or around Jan. 6, 2026, and changed the account's email address to one he used on a cryptocurrency exchange that did not include his name.

“Today’s announcement makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation’s secrets,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “Any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable.”

Van Dyke has now been released on a $250,000 bond as of Friday evening.

Lawmakers Call for Insider Trading Enforcement in Congress

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates Polymarket and other prediction platforms, said it was also filing civil charges against Van Dyke.

In a statement, Polymarket said that the charges proved that its efforts to curb insider trading were working.

“When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation,” the company said. “Insider trading has no place on Polymarket.”

But some in Congress have said that charging Van Dyke amounts to selective enforcement. On Friday, Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) introduced a resolution that would ban all senators from participating on prediction markets.

And at least two Republican lawmakers have called for President Donald Trump to pardon Van Dyke unless law enforcement starts going after every case of government insider trading.

“I don’t support what he did, and he should absolutely have to give back every dollar he made,” Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Florida) wrote on X. “But holding one person accountable while others get a pass undermines the idea of equal justice under the law.”