US Arrests Special Forces Soldier for Allegedly Betting on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the US Army, alleging that he used classified information about a military operation in Venezuela to place bets and win a substantial amount of money. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, is accused of using his knowledge of the forthcoming raid to place $33,000 in bets on the outcome, resulting in winnings of around $400,000. The DOJ has charged Van Dyke with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, and fraud. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke. According to the indictment, Van Dyke created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets on contracts related to the US military operation in Venezuela. After the raid, he allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to cryptocurrency, and attempted to conceal his identity. The case has drawn attention from US President Donald Trump, who expressed his disapproval of betting on sensitive information. The incident has also led to a post from Polymarket, stating that they identified the suspicious activity and cooperated with the DOJ's investigation.