BroadChain News, April 24, 14:00, the U.S. Department of Justice arrested Army Special Forces Staff Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke on April 23, accusing him of using classified information obtained from a military operation to capture Venezuelan President Maduro to profit on the prediction market Polymarket. Van Dyke invested approximately $33,000 in principal and netted over $409,000. This marks the first criminal indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice for insider trading on a prediction market and the first time the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has invoked the "Eddie Murphy Rule" to charge misuse of non-public government information.
According to the indictment, Van Dyke participated in a raid codenamed "Operation Absolute Resolve" on January 3, 2026, which arrested Maduro and his wife in Caracas. He created a Polymarket account on December 26, 2025, and subsequently placed 13 bets between December 27 and January 2, all on the "Yes" side of four contracts, including "Maduro steps down by January 31" and "U.S. invades Venezuela." The largest bet was $32,500, yielding a return rate of 1,242% and a profit of $404,000.
Van Dyke faces five federal charges, including violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and illegal monetary transactions, with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The CFTC has also filed a civil lawsuit seeking disgorgement of profits, civil penalties, and a permanent ban from futures trading. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that the defendant's actions endangered national security and put military personnel at risk.
The indictment also reveals Van Dyke's efforts to destroy evidence. On the day of the operation, January 3, he withdrew most of his Polymarket profits to an offshore cryptocurrency wallet and then deposited them into a newly opened online brokerage account. On January 6, when media began reporting unusual trading in the Maduro contracts, he requested Polymarket to delete his account and changed the registered email for his cryptocurrency exchange. Polymarket stated that upon discovering users trading on classified information, it proactively reported to the Department of Justice and cooperated with the investigation. Chief Legal Officer Neal Kumar emphasized that the platform is not anonymous.
This case is not an isolated incident. In February, Israeli authorities also arrested individuals suspected of using classified information to trade on Polymarket. The risk of insider trading on prediction markets is drawing systemic attention.