US special forces soldier charged after winning $400,000 betting on the removal of Maduro

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Federal authorities arrested and charged a U.S. special forces soldier who is accused of using classified information about the raid that removed Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro from office to make prediction market bets.

The soldier was identified as Gannon Ken Van Dyke in a news release announcing the indictment.

Van Dyke “bet a total of approximately $33,034” on the Maduro operation on the prediction market platform Polymarket, federal authorities said. He ultimately made more than $409,000 as a result of the bets placed on the U.S. operation, an unsealed indictment alleges.

Authorities said he “participated in the planning and execution of the U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro.”

“In total, Van Dyke made approximately 13 bets from Dec. 27, 2025, through the evening of Jan. 26,” the Justice Department said.

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“Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, “and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said the indictment “makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation’s secrets.”

"Following his successful trading relating to Maduro- and Venezuela-related contracts, Van Dyke allegedly sent most of his proceeds to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before depositing them into a newly created online brokerage account," the Justice Department said.

"The same day of the operation, Van Dyke withdrew the majority of his allegedly unlawful proceeds from his Polymarket account," the DOJ added.

Federal authorities say that on Jan. 6, three days after the Maudro raid, Van Dyke “asked Polymarket to delete his Polymarket account, falsely claiming that he had lost access to the email address.”

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