Army Soldier Used Classified Maduro Intel to Win Over $400,000 on Polymarket, DOJ Says
The Department of Justice has charged a US Army soldier in a Polymarket insider buying and selling case.
He allegedly used categorised intelligence to win roughly $409,881 by betting on the January seize of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
US Soldier Turned $33,000 Into $400,000 on Polymarket Using Classified Intel
According to a Justice Department indictment unsealed, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a 38-year-old stationed at Fort Bragg, turned about $33,034 into roughly $410,000 throughout 13 prediction market bets earlier than allegedly attempting to erase his path.
“Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly betrayed his fellow troopers by using categorised data for his personal monetary achieve. Van Dyke profited greater than $400,000 by buying and selling numerous outcomes associated to Venezuela after studying of the operation due to his position as a US Army soldier,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr said.
The US soldier was concerned in planning and executing “Operation Absolute Resolve.” The early morning January 3 mission captured Maduro and his spouse in Caracas.
Van Dyke, who reportedly used the Polymarket handle “Burdensome-Mix,” started putting Polymarket wagers on December 27, 2025, days earlier than the operation went stay.
All 13 bets took “YES” positions on Maduro and Venezuela-related contracts. They included “Maduro out by January 31” and “US Forces in Venezuela by January 31.” The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Van Dyke bought more than 436,000 “Yes” shares of the Maduro contract alone.
After making a revenue, Van Dyke allegedly moved a lot of the proceeds to a international crypto vault, modified his alternate electronic mail to an alias, and requested Polymarket to delete his account.
The US soldier faces 5 counts. They embrace three violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, in addition to wire fraud and an illegal financial transaction. Each CEA rely carries a most of 10 years, whereas every wire fraud rely carries a most of 20 years.
The CFTC has additionally filed a parallel grievance within the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The company is searching for restitution, buying and selling bans, and civil penalties.
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Polymarket has confronted mounting pressure this year over wallets making exactly timed bets on geopolitical occasions. Suspected insiders allegedly profited a whole bunch of 1000’s on contracts linked to the Iran conflict and the Maduro operation.
The grievance breaks new ground for the CFTC, delivering each its first event-contract insider buying and selling cost and its software of the “Eddie Murphy Rule” protecting misused federal data.
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