Army soldier to face Dec. 7 trial over Polymarket bets
Active-duty Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke will stand trial Dec. 7 in Manhattan, accused of using classified military intelligence to win Polymarket wagers tied to a U.S. operation.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, is scheduled to stand trial on Dec. 7 in Manhattan on federal charges that he used classified military intelligence to place winning bets on the prediction market Polymarket tied to a U.S. operation involving Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Van Dyke pleaded not guilty in April to five counts: three alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction. He was released on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond after his arraignment.
Federal prosecutors say Van Dyke placed 13 wagers on Venezuela-related outcomes during a seven-day stretch beginning in late December. Authorities allege those bets turned an initial investment of about $33,000 into roughly $410,000 in profit and that Van Dyke sought to delete his Polymarket account to conceal the activity.
At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, defense lawyers told the court they plan to file a motion to dismiss the government’s case by the end of next month. The trial will be held in the Southern District of New York.
The Justice Department’s criminal case is the first known federal insider-trading prosecution connected to a prediction market. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a separate civil complaint in the matter.
CFTC Chair Mike Selig said regulators will pursue enforcement against fraud, manipulation or insider trading in any market. On Capitol Hill, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer requested documents and internal communications from Polymarket related to wagers on the U.S. operation to capture Venezuela’s president.
Earlier this year federal authorities filed charges in a separate case alleging a technology employee used confidential information to trade on Polymarket. The Van Dyke case and the other criminal and civil actions reflect increased regulatory and law enforcement attention to online prediction platforms.
The Dec. 7 trial will address allegations that trades were informed by classified information and could result in legal rulings that affect oversight of online prediction markets.
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