Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke Allegedly Concealed Bets on Venezuela Raid Leading to Maduro’s Arrest
- Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged on April 23, 2026, with using classified information from a military operation to profit over $409,000 through bets on...
- According to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke was directly involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve, the January...
- Prosecutors allege that Van Dyke placed more than $33,000 in wagers on Polymarket approximately one week before the raid, leveraging his access to sensitive, nonpublic information about the...
U.S. Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke was charged on April 23, 2026, with using classified information from a military operation to profit over $409,000 through bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket regarding the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
According to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke was directly involved in the planning and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve, the January 3 special forces raid on Maduro’s compound in Caracas that resulted in the Venezuelan leader’s detention.
Prosecutors allege that Van Dyke placed more than $33,000 in wagers on Polymarket approximately one week before the raid, leveraging his access to sensitive, nonpublic information about the timing and outcome of the operation.
The bets yielded winnings of more than $409,000, which Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal by transferring the proceeds to foreign cryptocurrency accounts before depositing them into a newly created online brokerage account.
Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, Southern District of New York
Van Dyke faces charges including violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, and theft of nonpublic government information. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison.
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. That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, Southern District of New York
Van Dyke served as a communications specialist supporting Joint Special Operations Command, which oversees elite units such as Delta Force and SEAL Team Six, according to military officials familiar with his role.
The bet on the seizing of the Venezuelan leader has drawn scrutiny to insider trading within the growing prediction market industry.
The Washington Post
The case underscores the legal risks associated with exploiting confidential information in emerging financial platforms, particularly as prediction markets like Polymarket gain traction for trading on real-world events.