US Soldier Indicted for Polymarket Trade on Maduro Capture Gets Free Lawyer for SDNY April 28

SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 24 –  The US Army soldier indicted for making $400,000 on Polymarket with inside information on the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela is due in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to his release order in North Carolina found and tweeted by Inner City Press.

  Gannon Ken Van Dyke's profits are put at $409,000. But on April 24 he was found to be "eligible for appointment of counsel at government expense."  5(c)(3) filings on Patreon here.

His financial affidavit, of the type Inner City Press has gotten unsealed for example in the SDNY case of Michael Avenatti, was not included.   

According to the indictment, on December 26, 2025, VAN DYKE created a Polymarket account, funded it, and began trading on Maduro- and Venezuela-related markets.  In total, VAN DYKE made approximately 13 bets from December 27, 2025, through the evening of January 2, 2026.  Those bets all took the “YES” position on “U.S. Forces in Venezuela . . . by January 31, 2026”; “Maduro out by . . . January 31, 2026”; “Will the U.S. invade Venezuela by . . . January 31,”; or “Trump invokes War Powers against Venezuela by . . . January 31.”  VAN DYKE bet a total of approximately $33,034 on those outcomes while in possession of classified nonpublic information about Operation Absolute Resolve. In the predawn hours of January 3, 2026, U.S. special forces apprehended Maduro and his wife at a residence in Caracas, Venezuela, and hours later the President of the United States announced the successful operation. 

  Following the President’s public announcement, Polymarket resolved several Maduro- and Venezuela-related contracts to “YES,” including the markets “Maduro out by . . . January 31, 2026,” and “US forces in Venezuela by . . . January 31, 2026.”  As a result, VAN DYKE won his wagers on those contracts.  In total, VAN DYKE allegedly profited approximately $409,881. Following his successful trading relating to Maduro- and Venezuela-related contracts, VAN DYKE allegedly sent most of his proceeds to a foreign cryptocurrency vault."  

Was that in his financial affidavit? Inner City Press is on the case(s). 

This case is USA v. Van Dkye, 1:26-cr-156 (Garnett)

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