Fort Bragg soldier’s trial Dec. 7; dismissal motion expected next month

By Alan Wooten
The Center Square

Trial is set for Dec. 7 for an enlisted soldier from Fort Bragg charged with using classified information to win more than $400,000 in a prediction market across a baker’s dozen bets.

It will be the first American prosecution of insider trading involving the popularly growing prediction markets. The case is being tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a special forces soldier, is on leave from the Army. He was released on $250,000 personal recognizance bond after his April arraignment. He pleaded not guilty to unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain; theft of nonpublic government information; commodities fraud; wire fraud; and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

Van Dyke was involved with American forces in bringing former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to New York to face charges. His lawyers plan to file a dismissal motion on July 31, saying outside the courtroom Monday to convict their client prosecutors would need to prove who in the Situation Room made the decision on Maduro.

Mark Geragos, one of Van Dyke’s lawyers, said the president – the only one who could have given the orders – would be unlikely to tell when, how and what. He called the prosecution attempt “an exercise in futility.”

Prosecutors say as part of the operation to capture Maduro, he signed a nondisclosure agreement specific to not releasing classified or sensitive information. He used what he knew to make bets on Polymarket that Maduro would be out of power by Jan. 31.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the entity overseeing Polymarket and other prediction markets, filed a complaint against Van Dyke. The commission says he moved $35,000 from his personal bank account to cryptocurrency exchange on Dec. 26.

The commission says between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, he bet $32,500 in a series of bets. Most were made Jan. 2. He made $404,000 on Maduro bets, and another $5,000 on other bets involving Venezuela, said the commission complaint.

Operation Absolute Resolve, as the capture of Maduro was named, was executed Jan. 3 in Caracas, Venezuela. He was brought to New York City and faced charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.

Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president two days later. She was formerly the vice president to Maduro.