US Authorities Arrest Army Green Beret Over Alleged $400,000 Betting Scandal on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a high-ranking Army officer, Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, for allegedly exploiting classified information to place wagers on a military operation in Venezuela. The indictment, unsealed on Thursday, charges Van Dyke with unlawfully utilizing confidential government data for personal gain, theft of non-public information, and fraud. According to the allegations, Van Dyke used his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in bets, ultimately winning around $400,000. The US Attorney's office stated that Van Dyke's actions constitute insider trading, which is a federal offense. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly created a Polymarket account in late December 2025 and placed 13 bets between then and early January 2026 on contracts related to the potential US military intervention in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint in federal court. The agency's chairman emphasized that Van Dyke's actions endangered national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. Following the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a stablecoin, and transferred the funds to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before moving them to a brokerage account. The investigation was initiated after news organizations noticed the significant profit made from the Polymarket bets, and it was discovered that Van Dyke had attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. In response to the allegations, Polymarket stated that they had identified the suspicious activity and cooperated with the DOJ's investigation. The incident has also drawn comment from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.