A Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army has been arrested by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over allegations involving illicit betting on a military operation to apprehend former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which he was involved in planning and executing.
The DOJ revealed an indictment Thursday accusing Gannon Ken Van Dyke of exploiting confidential government data for personal financial gain. He faces charges including unlawful use of sensitive information, theft of nonpublic data, and fraud. The indictment alleges that Van Dyke leveraged insider knowledge to place $33,000 in bets via Polymarket, reportedly netting about $400,000 after the operation.
“The defendant is accused of betraying trust by using classified details of a critical military mission for personal profit,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “This act constitutes clear-cut insider trading and contravenes federal law.”
According to court documents, Van Dyke created an account on Polymarket on December 26, 2025, and executed 13 bets spanning until January 2, 2026, concerning various outcomes of the U.S.’s military involvement in Venezuela.
Based at Fort Bragg as a special forces soldier, Van Dyke played a role in both planning and carrying out the raid. Post-operation, it is alleged he transferred his winnings into a bridged USDC version, moved them to an offshore cryptocurrency vault, then systematically shifted funds into a brokerage account.
The indictment highlighted that news outlets had previously noted the significant profits made from these bets, suggesting Van Dyke attempted to erase his digital footprint by requesting Polymarket delete his account and altering his email address.