US Army Green Beret Arrested for Illegally Betting on Venezuela Raid

A US Army master sergeant has been arrested and charged with unlawfully using confidential government information for personal gain and fraud. Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly placed $33,000 in bets on the outcome of a military operation in Venezuela, winning around $400,000. The operation aimed to detain former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier with the US Army Special Forces, allegedly created a Polymarket account and placed 13 bets between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026. The US Department of Justice claims Van Dyke used classified information about the raid to inform his bets, which is considered insider trading and is illegal under federal law. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint in federal court. After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly withdrew his winnings, converted them to a cryptocurrency, and moved them into a brokerage account. The case came to light after news organizations noticed the large profit made on the Polymarket bets, and Van Dyke attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email. The incident has sparked comments from US President Donald Trump, who expressed disapproval of the use of confidential information for betting purposes.