NEW YORK, NY — A U.S. Army Master Sergeant who helped capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested Thursday for allegedly betting $32,000 on the military operation and winning more than $400,000 on a prediction market platform.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, faces five federal charges including unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. The charges stem from his alleged use of classified information about Operation Absolute Resolve to place bets on Polymarket between late December 2025 and early January 2026. Van Dyke was involved in both the planning and execution of the covert mission that captured Maduro on January 3, prosecutors said.
According to an indictment unsealed Thursday in the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account on December 26, 2025, and placed approximately 13 bets totaling $33,000 on various outcomes related to U.S. military action in Venezuela and Maduro’s removal from office. His largest wager was a $32,537 bet that Maduro would be “out” by January 31, 2026 — a long-shot bet that paid off with a 1,242% profit of $404,222. “The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”
Van Dyke served as a communications specialist supporting Joint Special Operations Command, the elite unit that oversees Tier 1 special mission units including the Army’s Delta Force and the Navy’s SEAL Team Six, according to multiple officials. He has been on active duty since 2008 and achieved the rank of master sergeant in 2023. Court documents show Van Dyke was photographed on what appears to be the deck of the USS Iwo Jima at sunrise following the operation, wearing military fatigues and carrying a rifle alongside three other service members. The ship was used to transport Maduro after his capture during the overnight raid in Caracas. Van Dyke allegedly made his final bet just hours before U.S. forces launched the covert operation that extracted Maduro from the presidential palace while under heavy fire.
The scale of trading linked to Operation Absolute Resolve immediately raised red flags for law enforcement and prediction market operators. Polymarket said in a statement that when they identified a user trading on classified government information, they referred the matter to the Department of Justice and cooperated with the investigation. “Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof the system works,” the company said. Van Dyke allegedly tried to conceal his identity after the operation’s success became public, requesting that Polymarket delete his account just three days after Maduro’s capture and falsely claiming he had lost access to the email tied to it. He also changed the email linked to his cryptocurrency exchange account to an address not registered in his name, which he had created on December 14, 2025.
After securing his nearly half-million-dollar payout, Van Dyke allegedly routed most of the proceeds through a foreign cryptocurrency vault before depositing them into a newly established online brokerage account. On January 3, the day of the operation, he withdrew most of the illegal gains according to the indictment. President Donald Trump announced the successful capture on Truth Social, writing that Maduro and his wife had been “captured and flown out of the Country.” Maduro was subsequently transported to New York City where he has pleaded not guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges. The former Venezuelan leader, 63, remains held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn alongside his wife, former first lady Cilia Flores, 69. Both appeared in court in March, with Maduro looking noticeably thinner and wearing prison clothing with leg shackles.
Van Dyke could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted on all charges — up to 10 years for each violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, 20 years for wire fraud and 10 years for illegal monetary transactions. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized that federal laws protecting national security information fully apply to prediction markets. “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,” he said. FBI Director Kash Patel called the case a betrayal of fellow soldiers, stating that any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable.
The arrest comes amid growing scrutiny of prediction markets and concerns about insider trading on geopolitical events. Trading on such platforms has exploded in the past year, with users now spending billions of dollars weekly on sites like Polymarket and Kalshi. When asked about the charges Thursday, Trump told reporters he hadn’t heard about the specific incident but compared it to baseball legend Pete Rose, who was banned from the sport for gambling. “That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team,” Trump said. Asked about concerns regarding betting tied to ongoing conflicts, the president said the whole world has “unfortunately become somewhat of a casino” and added he was “not happy with any of that stuff.” The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a related complaint against Van Dyke seeking restitution, disgorgement and civil monetary penalties.
Van Dyke will make his initial court appearance in North Carolina, with no attorney yet listed on the court docket. This marks the first time the Department of Justice has prosecuted a case of alleged insider trading on a prediction market, though similar cases have emerged internationally. In February, Israeli authorities charged an army reservist and civilian for using classified information to place bets on Polymarket. The case highlights the emerging legal challenges as prediction markets gain popularity and lawmakers consider new legislation to further regulate such platforms and stiffen penalties against government officials who engage in insider trading.
I wonder how much the T family made on this raid……