Fort Bragg Master Sgt. Pleads Not Guilty in Polymarket Case

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a 38-year-old U.S. Army master sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan to a five-count indictment alleging he used classified military intelligence to place bets on the prediction market Polymarket.

Court papers say prosecutors charged Van Dyke with placing at least 13 wagers between Dec. 27, 2025, and Jan. 2, 2026, on contracts predicting U.S. forces would enter Venezuela and that President Nicolás Maduro would be removed. The indictment alleges the bets cost about $33,034 and returned roughly $409,881 after a Jan. 3 operation the government says occurred as Van Dyke expected.

Van Dyke entered the plea and was released on a $250,000 bond. He was ordered to surrender his passport and limit travel while the case proceeds.

Prosecutors allege Van Dyke used advance knowledge of a planned operation identified in court filings as Operation Absolute Resolve to place the wagers. The complaint states he routed winnings through a foreign cryptocurrency vault that pays interest, then transferred funds into a brokerage account created on Jan. 16. The indictment says he asked Polymarket to delete his account three days after the operation, claiming he had lost access to his email address.

The documents also note Van Dyke had been blocked from opening an account on a rival prediction platform in late December 2025. Court filings show investigators are using financial records, platform activity logs and internal military information to support their case.

The Justice Department described the prosecution as the first federal case tied directly to trading on a prediction market. The department quoted U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton as saying prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche added that federal laws protecting national security information apply to activity on prediction markets.

The indictment follows increased scrutiny of platforms where users can wager on political and geopolitical events. Prosecutors cited public estimates that the industry handles billions of dollars in trading activity each week.

President Donald Trump criticized prediction markets as like a casino after the charges were announced, then later described himself as undecided and noted that some people he knows favor the platforms.

Van Dyke’s lawyers offered little in court beyond the not guilty plea. The indictment does not allege broader leaks of classified material beyond the actions tied to the bets, and prosecutors have asked the court to keep certain evidence under seal.

The case raises legal questions about how statutes governing classified information and insider trading apply to prediction markets and cryptocurrency-related transfers. Van Dyke’s arraignment in Manhattan is the next public court event in the matter.