US Army Green Beret Arrested for Allegedly Placing Bets on Venezuela Raid

The US Department of Justice has arrested a master sergeant in the Army's Special Forces, alleging that he used classified information about a military operation in Venezuela to place bets worth $33,000, which yielded approximately $400,000 in winnings. The sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, allegedly created a Polymarket account and placed multiple bets on the outcome of the operation, including the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. According to the indictment, Van Dyke used his knowledge of the forthcoming raid to inform his betting decisions, which is considered insider trading and is illegal under federal law. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also pursuing an insider trading complaint against Van Dyke, stating that his actions endangered US national security and put the lives of American service members at risk. Van Dyke's actions were discovered after news organizations noticed the significant profit made from the bets, and he allegedly attempted to conceal his identity by asking Polymarket to delete his account and changing his email address. The case highlights concerns about the use of classified information for personal gain and the risks associated with prediction market betting.