US Authorities Arrest Army Green Beret Over Alleged Insider Trading on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has taken a master sergeant into custody, accusing him of misusing sensitive government information for personal gain by betting on the outcome of a military operation in Venezuela. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly used his knowledge of the impending raid to place $33,000 in wagers, ultimately winning approximately $400,000. According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, 'The defendant allegedly breached the trust placed in him by the US government by utilizing classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets, which is a clear case of insider trading and a federal offense.' Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly created a Polymarket account and placed multiple bets on contracts related to the US operation in Venezuela. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint, stating that Van Dyke's actions endangered national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly attempted to conceal his identity and transferred his winnings to a foreign cryptocurrency 'vault' and then to a brokerage account. The case came to light after news organizations noticed the significant profit made on these bets, and Polymarket cooperated with the investigation, stating that they referred the matter to the DOJ upon identifying a user trading on classified government information.