US Special Forces soldier indicted for insider betting on Maduro capture operation

The United States Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a 38-year-old Army Special Forces soldier based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The indictment alleges that Van Dyke utilised classified information concerning a January military operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to place winning bets on the online prediction market Polymarket. Prosecutors state that the soldier is accused of profiting approximately $400,000 from these trades related to the mission's outcome.

Central to the allegations is the assertion that Van Dyke accessed material nonpublic information regarding the planning and execution of the raid. Investigators claim the soldier created a Polymarket account using a virtual private network in late December 2025 to mask his location shortly before the operation commenced. This digital obfuscation was reportedly employed to obscure his identity while engaging in financial transactions tied to the sensitive military details.

The charges specifically include unlawful use of classified government information, wire fraud, and other financial offences. Prosecutors argue that Van Dyke was directly involved in the mission's planning and execution at the time of the trades, granting him access to information that was not available to the public. The case highlights the intersection of classified military operations and private financial speculation on prediction platforms.

Betting activity is alleged to have escalated as the January military operation approached, with prosecutors claiming the timing of the wagers was directly linked to the unfolding events of the mission. The indictment suggests that the soldier leveraged his insider knowledge to secure profits that would have been impossible without access to the nonpublic details of the operation.

This development underscores the strict prohibitions against using material nonpublic information for personal financial gain, particularly when such information pertains to classified military details. The United States Department of Justice maintains that the use of such data for betting purposes constitutes a serious breach of trust and security protocols within the armed forces.

The specific timeline of the betting activity relative to the exact commencement of the operation remains subject to the full details of the indictment, though prosecutors claim escalation as the mission approached. The final determination of guilt and the specific sentencing will depend on the court's findings, as these are currently allegations pending trial.