US Arrests Green Beret Over $400,000 Bet on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the Army for allegedly using classified information to place bets on a military operation in Venezuela. Gannon Ken Van Dyke is accused of using his knowledge of the forthcoming raid to place $33,000 in bets, which resulted in winnings of approximately $400,000. The indictment charges Van Dyke with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, and fraud. According to the allegations, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets on contracts related to the US military operation in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. The case has drawn attention to the issue of insider trading and the use of confidential information for personal gain. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, was involved in the planning and execution of the military operation to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a cryptocurrency, and attempted to conceal his identity. The incident has sparked comments from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of the practice of placing bets using confidential information.