RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) 鈥� A U.S. special forces soldier was granted bond Friday on charges that he used classified information about the mission to to win more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket, a federal magistrate said Friday.
The magistrate in North Carolina who authorized Gannon Ken Van Dyke’s release told him to report to a New York federal courthouse by Tuesday to continue his case there.
Bearded with arm tattoos, Van Dyke said little during the nearly hourlong hearing, during which he was appointed a federal public defender who declined to comment afterward. The $250,000 unsecured bond did not require Van Dyke to put up any money.
Federal prosecutors say Van Dyke used his access to classified information about in January to win money on Polymarket, one of the largest prediction markets. The sites allow people to trade on almost anything 鈥� from to and even the winners of the TV reality shows.
Van Dyke, who is stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, was charged Thursday with the unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.
He could face up to 10 years on four of the criminal counts, and up to 20 years on a fifth, the government said Friday. A publicly listed phone number listed for Van Dyke isn’t in service.
Van Dyke, 38, was involved for about a month in the planning and execution of , according to the New York federal prosecutor鈥檚 office. He signed nondisclosure agreements promising to not divulge 鈥渁ny classified or sensitive information鈥� related to the operations, but prosecutors say he used what he knew to make a series of bets related to Maduro being out of power by Jan. 31.
鈥淭his involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation,鈥� FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post.
Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said in a post on X that the company flagged the suspicious activity, turned it over to the government and cooperated with the investigation.
鈥淓very trade is public, permanent, and auditable,鈥� Coplan wrote. 鈥淏ad actors leave a trail.鈥�
Massive profits from well-timed bets in Venezuela and brought for stricter regulation of the markets.
The sudden rise of these markets has led to by Congress and state governments. Some lawmakers alarmed by on the U.S. and Israel鈥檚 war against Iran and wagers on President Donald have pushed for guardrails against
The Trump administration has been . The president鈥檚 eldest son is an adviser for both Polymarket and its main competitor, Kalshi,, and is a Polymarket investor. Trump鈥檚 social media platform, Truth Social, is launching its own prediction market called Truth Predict.
Van Dyke moved into a home in Fayetteville just weeks ago, said Larry Duncan, one of his new neighbors.
鈥淚 introduced myself. I asked if he needed any assistance,鈥� said Duncan, who once served in the Marines. 鈥淚 said, 鈥榊ou look like special forces.鈥� He just smiled. I worked on a contract at Fort Bragg. I know how those people carry themselves. He was tatted up, quiet, kind of secretive.鈥�
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that regulates prediction markets, announced Thursday that it had filed a parallel complaint against Van Dyke.
That complaint alleges that Van Dyke moved $35,000 from his personal bank account into a cryptocurrency exchange account on Dec. 26 鈥� a little over a week before U.S. forces flew into Caracas and seized Maduro.
Van Dyke made a series of bets on when Maduro might be removed from power, according to the complaint. He placed those bets between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, with the vast majority occurring the night of Jan. 2 鈥� just hours before the first missiles struck Caracas.
The bets resulted in 鈥渕ore than $404,000 of profits,鈥� the complaint says.
鈥淭he defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm鈥檚 way,鈥� said Michael Selig, the commission鈥檚 chairman.
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Associated Press reporters Allen G. Breed in Raleigh, Ed White in Detroit and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
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