President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro speaks during a march on November 21, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) --
A federal judge on Monday set a tentative date for the trial of the U.S. Army special forces soldier who is charged with using classified information about the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to make more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket.
The criminal trial of Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 7.
Van Dyke pleaded not guilty in April after prosecutors alleged he used inside information to place 13 bets on the outcome of the Maduro raid then attempted to destroy evidence of the trades after he pocketed more than $400,000.
The case would be the first U.S. prosecution of insider trading on a prediction market to go to trial.
Prosecutors on Monday estimated their case would take about one week, and defense lawyers said they plan to put on a brief case that would take a "couple of days."
Defense lawyers said they plan to file a motion to dismiss the indictment by July 31.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos argued in court that the prosecution would be derailed by the classified information at the center of the case. To convict Van Dyke, he argued, prosecutors would need to prove "who was in the Situation Room at that time and who made the decision" to capture Maduro.
Van Dyke, who sat at the defense table during Monday's proceedings, did not speak.
During Van Dyke’s arraignment in April, his defense attorney said he expected few factual disputes over the allegations in the case and believed that the prosecution would "largely rise and fall" on pre-trial motions.
Van Dyke, an experienced special forces soldier, was released on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond following his April arraignment. According to his attorney Zach Intrater, he is currently on leave from the Army.
Allegations of insider trading have prompted public scrutiny of prediction market sites like Polymarket and Kalshi. Prosecutors in New York last month charged a Google employee with using confidential company information to make more than $1.2 million on Polymarket.
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