US soldier charged with using Polymarket to bet on Nicolas Maduro abduction
Summary
The U.S. Department of Justice charged an active-duty soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, with using secret military information to make bets on a prediction market platform about the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He reportedly made over $400,000 betting on events related to a U.S. military operation in Venezuela.Key Facts
- Gannon Ken Van Dyke is a 38-year-old active-duty soldier based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- He used classified information to place bets on Polymarket about U.S. military actions in Venezuela.
- Between late December 2025 and early January 2026, he made multiple bets on Maduro being removed from office and a U.S. invasion of Venezuela.
- Van Dyke allegedly earned more than $400,000 from these bets.
- He faces charges including violating the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and unlawful monetary transactions.
- Each fraud or unlawful transaction charge carries up to 10 years in prison; wire fraud charges can lead to up to 20 years.
- The U.S. launched a military operation on January 3, 2026, resulting in Maduro’s abduction and the deaths of several Venezuelans and Cubans.
- Prediction markets like Polymarket allow people to bet on real-world events, and their use has grown under President Donald Trump’s second term.
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