U.S. Soldier Arrested in Alleged $400,000 Betting Scheme on Capture of Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro

A U.S. Army special forces soldier has been arrested and charged with illegally profiting from classified information by betting on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to federal prosecutors.

Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, was indicted on multiple criminal charges after allegedly using his involvement in Operation Absolute Resolve to place wagers on the prediction market Polymarket that Maduro would be removed from power by January 2026.

Prosecutors allege Van Dyke opened an account on Polymarket in late December 2025 and placed a series of bets totaling approximately $32,000, beginning on December 27 and continuing through January 2, 2026, with the final bet placed just hours before the overnight operation that led to Maduro’s capture.

The bets, which were long-shot wagers at the time, netted Van Dyke more than $400,000 in profits after Maduro was apprehended and transported to New York City, where he arrived at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport on January 5, 2026.

According to the indictment unsealed by the Department of Justice, Van Dyke had access to classified operational details as part of his role in the planning and execution of the mission, which prosecutors say gave him an unfair advantage in the prediction market.

Rather than safeguard that information as required by his position and military obligations, Van Dyke allegedly used it for personal financial gain, prosecutors stated in the charging documents.

After realizing his bets had attracted unusual attention in trading circles, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his activity by trying to delete his Polymarket account and change the email address linked to his cryptocurrency exchange account, where he had initially stored the winnings before transferring them to an online brokerage account.

He faces five criminal counts, including unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, and wire fraud.

A master sergeant in the U.S. Army is a senior noncommissioned officer who serves as a key tactical leader and technical expert, typically at the battalion level, and is expected to uphold standards for junior soldiers in the unit.

The case has drawn scrutiny from both legal and financial oversight experts due to the intersection of military operations, classified information, and the growing use of prediction markets for speculative trading.