Army sergeant charged with betting on classified Maduro operation

A U.S. Army Master Sergeant involved in the January raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was charged Thursday with using classified intelligence about the mission to place bets on prediction market Polymarket, netting more than $404,000 in profits, according to federal prosecutors.

The case appears to be the first criminal charge involving insider trading on a prediction market platform, raising fresh questions about the security of classified military operations and the expanding influence of political gambling in U.S. financial markets.

Federal prosecutors charged Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, a special forces Master Sergeant, with unlawful use of confidential government information, theft of nonpublic information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions, ABC7 reported, citing the Associated Press. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a parallel civil complaint the same day.

Van Dyke, who joined the Army in 2008 and was promoted to Master Sergeant in 2023, participated in planning and executing the Maduro capture for approximately one month beginning December 8, 2025. He signed nondisclosure agreements pledging not to divulge classified or sensitive information about the operation.

Despite those obligations, Van Dyke transferred $35,000 to a cryptocurrency exchange account on December 26, 2025, then placed more than $32,500 in Polymarket bets between December 30 and January 2 — with the bulk wagered on the night of January 2, hours before the January 3 raid commenced. He also earned more than $5,000 from three other Venezuela-related contracts. After the operation, Van Dyke moved his winnings to foreign cryptocurrency accounts and sought deletion of his Polymarket account.

"This involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig added in a statement: "The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet taken action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm's way."

Polymarket discovered the unusual trading pattern and alerted the Department of Justice, prompting the investigation. The company said in a statement, "Insider trading has no place on Polymarket." Donald Trump's eldest son serves as an adviser for the platform and holds an investment in rival prediction market Kalshi.

Van Dyke was photographed on a ship deck after the raid in military fatigues and carrying a rifle, according to ABC7. He faces years in prison if convicted. No attorney information was immediately available.