Federal authorities have arrested and charged Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, a U.S. Special Forces sergeant major involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, accusing him of using classified information about the raid to make more than $400,000 by placing bets on online prediction markets.

The bets, placed on Polymarket, a site that allows you to bet money on real-world events, matured in the run-up to the raid in which US forces raided a complex in Caracas to capture the Venezuelan president.

Van Dyke anonymously made a substantial profit, turning approximately $34,000 into a profit of over $400,000 . The soldier, originally from Fayetteville and stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, faces charges including commodities fraud, wire fraud, theft, and using classified government information for personal gain.

"Prediction markets are not a haven for the exploitation of unlawfully obtained confidential or classified information for personal gain," commented Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where the charges against Van Dyke were filed. The case is believed to be the first time the Department of Justice has heard insider trading based on prediction market bets. This is an industry that has come under scrutiny in recent months, with calls for stricter regulations to limit the use of privileged information.

The series of suspiciously timed bets, placed anonymously by Van Dyke in late 2025, began on December 27 with a $96 stake. The stakes were subsequently increased. "Van Dyke profited by speculating on various outcomes related to Venezuela after learning of the operation through his role as a U.S. Army soldier," said James Barnacle, deputy director of the FBI .

(Unioneonline)

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