US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Placing Bets on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a high-ranking Army officer, Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, for allegedly using classified information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly created a Polymarket account and placed multiple bets on the outcome of the operation, winning approximately $400,000. The DOJ has charged Van Dyke with unlawful use of confidential government information, theft, and fraud. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint. According to the indictment, Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the military operation to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity and withdrew his winnings, converting them to cryptocurrency and transferring them to a brokerage account. The case has drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed concerns about the use of confidential information for personal gain. Polymarket, the platform used for the bets, has stated that it cooperated with the DOJ investigation and referred the matter to the authorities after identifying suspicious activity.