When the United States launched a military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in January, widespread public attention focused on what the U.S. might gain from Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. But one soldier, it turned out, found a more immediate way to profit — and is now facing federal charges for it.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke participated in the planning and execution of the U.S. military operation to capture Maduro, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. U.S. Department of Justice Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., had access to classified information about the operation beginning around Dec. 8, 2025. U.S.
According to the Justice Department, he used that knowledge to place bets on Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform, wagering that Maduro would lose power before the end of January 2026.
Van Dyke allegedly profited approximately $409,881 from the trades. He now faces charges including unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction, filed in Manhattan federal court. U.S.
Van Dyke made approximately 13 bets from Dec. 27, 2025, through the evening of Jan. 2, 2026 — all taking the “Yes” position on whether U.S. forces would enter Venezuela or Maduro would be removed from power by Jan. 31, 2026. He staked a total of approximately $33,034 on those outcomes. In the predawn hours of Jan. 3, 2026, U.S. special forces apprehended Maduro and his wife at a residence in Caracas, Venezuela.
Van Dyke, 38, has been a master sergeant since 2023 and has been on active duty since 2008. He was a communications specialist supporting Joint Special Operations Command, the unit that oversees Tier 1 special mission units such as the Army’s Delta Force and the Navy’s SEAL Team Six, according to multiple officials.
Prosecutors allege that after collecting his winnings, Van Dyke attempted to cover his tracks. He asked Polymarket to delete his account on Jan. 6, 2026, falsely claiming he had lost access to the associated email address, and transferred his proceeds to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before depositing them into a newly created online brokerage account.
The charges against Van Dyke come at a sensitive moment for the prediction market industry, which has been growing exponentially despite calls in Washington and among state leaders for the sites to be reined in. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York, who is overseeing the prosecution, stated that prediction markets are not a haven for those who misuse classified information for personal gain and vowed to hold such individuals accountable.
Van Dyke is the first person in the U.S. to be charged for suspected Polymarket insider trading; Israeli authorities charged two individuals in February on suspicion of using classified information to bet on military operations in Iran on the platform.
According to court records, Van Dyke began receiving classified information about Operation Absolute Resolve, with regard to Maduro, around Dec. 8, 2025, giving him weeks to place his bets before the operation was carried out in the early hours of Jan. 3, 2026. As part of his role, Van Dyke had signed nondisclosure agreements barring him from disclosing classified or sensitive information relating to military operations through “writing, words, conduct, or otherwise.”
The Trump administration framed Operation Absolute Resolve as a law-enforcement action, alleging that Maduro bore responsibility for the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States — a claim President Donald Trump has made since his first campaign in 2016. Maduro was transported to New York to face federal drug trafficking-related charges; he has pleaded not guilty. During an unrelated Oval Office event this Thursday, Trump told reporters he hadn’t heard the details of the case but compared it to Pete Rose betting on his own team.