U.S. soldier who won $400K betting on Maduro’s capture charged with using classified information
U.S. Army special forces soldier who won more than $400,000 in an online betting market on the ouster of deposed Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro accused by the Ministry of Justice using confidential information.
According to an indictment unsealed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, was involved in the “planning and execution” of the US operation that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound in Caracas on January 3.
Van Dyke was indicted on five charges: unlawful use of classified government information for personal gain; theft of non-public government information; commodity fraud; wire fraud; and engaging in illegal monetary transactions.
What is alleged in the indictment?
From December 27, 2025, to January 2, Van Dyke allegedly placed approximately 13 bets related to the Maduro operation on Polymarket, an online prediction marketplace that allows users to bet on the outcomes of future events.
The soldier allegedly took the “Yes” position on various issues, including US forces invading Venezuela and Maduro’s withdrawal on January 31. According to the indictment, Van Dyke made a profit of approximately $409,881 by betting approximately $33,034 on these outcomes while possessing confidential information.
The Justice Department alleged that the soldier placed most of the proceeds in a foreign cryptocurrency vault before depositing them into a newly created online brokerage account.
Later, after reports of unusual betting on prediction markets regarding the Maduro raid emerged, Van Dyke allegedly asked Polymarket to delete his account, falsely claiming that he had lost access to the email associated with the account. He also allegedly changed the email associated with his cryptocurrency exchange account to an address “not subscribed to in his name.”
On Jan. 3, just hours after the U.S. military captured Maduro and transported him to the USS Iwo Jima, a photo was uploaded to Van Dyke’s Google account showing him standing “on what appeared to be the deck of a ship at sea at sunrise, dressed in U.S. military fatigues and holding a rifle,” according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, Van Dyke joined the army in 2008 and was promoted to the rank of master sergeant in 2023. As part of his job, Van Dyke signed confidentiality agreements in which he promised never to disclose, publish or disclose “any classified or sensitive information” related to military operations.
“Instead of protecting this information as he was obligated to do, Van Dyke decided to use this confidential information to trade on a prediction market platform for his personal profit,” the indictment alleges.
“Prediction markets are not a haven for confidential or classified information misused for personal gain,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York said in a statement. “The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the U.S. Government by using classified information regarding a sensitive military operation to bet on the timing and outcome of the operation to profit. This is insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”
Polymarket said in a statement that it was cooperating with federal authorities.
“When we identified a user operating on classified government information, we referred the matter to the Department of Justice and cooperated with their investigation,” the company said. said in a post on X. “Insider trading has no place at Polymarket. Today’s arrest is proof that the system works.”
Prediction markets come under increased scrutiny
Online prediction markets have grown in popularity over the past few years and have come under scrutiny for suspiciously timed transactions related to military operations, including the war in Iran.
white house recently warned employees He opposes using inside information about the Iran war to bet on prediction markets.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers taking into account the legislation curbing betting on specific events such as terrorism, assassinations or war.
Just this week, Kalshi, another popular prediction marketplace, announced that it had fined and suspended three congressional candidates for betting on the results of their own elections.
Trump compared soldiers to Pete Rose
When a reporter asked about the Van Dyke case late Thursday, President Trump initially compared it to that of MLB legend Pete RoseA person who was banned from baseball for life for betting on games.
“Was he betting that they would get it?” [Maduro]Or that they can’t get it? “That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team,” Trump said, adding: “That sounds a little bit like Pete Rose.” Pete Rose was kept out of the Hall of Fame because he bet on his own team. Now if he bets against his own team, it won’t work, but he’s betting on his own team.”
The president continued to bemoan the rise of prediction markets.
“Unfortunately, the whole world has turned into a kind of casino,” Trump said. “And you look at what’s going on all over the world, in Europe and everywhere, they’re doing these betting things. I’ve never really liked it. I don’t like it conceptually, but it is what it is. No, I guess I’m not happy with any of it.”
