A U.S. special forces soldier has been charged with using classified information about a military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to make more than $400,000 in an online prediction market, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors allege that Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, used his access to sensitive information related to the January operation to place bets on Polymarket regarding Maduro’s removal from power. He now faces multiple charges, including fraud, theft of government information and unlawful use of confidential data.
According to officials, Van Dyke was involved in planning and executing the operation and had signed agreements prohibiting the disclosure of classified information. Despite this, he allegedly placed a series of bets between late December and early January, shortly before the operation.
A parallel complaint filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission states that Van Dyke transferred funds into a cryptocurrency account and used them to place wagers tied to developments in Venezuela. The bets generated more than $404,000 in profits, with additional smaller gains from related contracts.
Authorities also allege that he attempted to conceal the proceeds after the operation by transferring funds to foreign accounts and requesting the deletion of his betting account.
In turn, Polymarket said it identified suspicious trading activity, notified the U.S. Department of Justice and cooperated with the investigation.
