A United States Army soldier has been charged with making more than $400,000 by betting on the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, according to the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors say the soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, used classified information ahead of a military operation that led to Maduro’s capture on 3 January.
Van Dyke, 38, is a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army Special Forces. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan on several charges. These include unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conducting an unlawful financial transaction.
Authorities say that in the weeks before the operation, Van Dyke placed a series of bets on the prediction market Polymarket. These wagers focused on whether U.S. forces would enter Venezuela and whether Maduro would be removed from power.
Prosecutors allege that between early December and early January, he placed 13 bets linked to the operation.
The case is believed to be the first time U.S. prosecutors have brought insider trading charges linked to a prediction market.
“Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain,” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Van Dyke is expected to appear before a judge in North Carolina. Details of his legal representation were not immediately available.
The Pentagon declined to comment, referring questions to the Justice Department.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday (23 April), President Donald Trump said he was not familiar with the case. He compared it to a well-known sports gambling controversy.
"That's like Pete Rose betting on his own team," Trump said. "If he bet against his team, that would be no good, but he bet on his own team. I'll look into it."
Polymarket said it had cooperated with investigators.
"Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today's arrest is proof the system works," the company said in a post on X.
The case comes amid wider scrutiny of prediction markets and concerns about the use of inside information in political and global events.
Prosecutors said Van Dyke had been involved in the “planning and execution” of the operation to capture Maduro, though few details were given.
The indictment also refers to a photograph uploaded to Van Dyke’s Google account in the early hours of 3 January. It was taken shortly after Maduro was brought aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
"That photograph depicts Van Dyke on what appears to be the deck of a ship at sea, at sunrise wearing U.S. military fatigues, and carrying a rifle, standing alongside three other individuals wearing U.S. military fatigues," the indictment read.
According to court documents, Van Dyke has served in the U.S. Army since 2008 and was most recently stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also filed civil charges against him. If convicted, Van Dyke could face a prison sentence of up to 60 years.
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