US Authorities Arrest Green Beret for Allegedly Betting on Classified Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has taken action against a high-ranking Army officer, Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, for allegedly exploiting confidential government information for personal financial gain. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, is accused of using his knowledge of a forthcoming military operation in Venezuela to place bets worth $33,000, which yielded approximately $400,000 in winnings. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account in late December 2025 and made multiple bets on the likelihood of US forces landing in Venezuela, removing President Nicolas Maduro, and other related events. The US Attorney's office has stated that Van Dyke's actions constitute a clear case of insider trading, which is illegal under federal law. In addition to the criminal charges, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The CFTC Chairman, Mike Selig, emphasized that Van Dyke's actions not only endangered US national security but also put the lives of American service members at risk. Following the raid, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity by withdrawing his winnings, converting them to a bridged version of USDC, and transferring the funds to a foreign cryptocurrency 'vault' before moving them into a brokerage account. The filing also notes that Van Dyke asked Polymarket to delete his account and changed his email address in an effort to maintain anonymity. Polymarket has since issued a statement confirming that they identified the suspicious activity, reported it to the DOJ, and cooperated with the subsequent investigation. In response to the allegations, US President Donald Trump expressed his disapproval of the practice of betting on sensitive information, stating that the world has become 'somewhat of a casino' and that he does not conceptually favor such activities.