RALEIGH, N.C. — An Army special forces member connected to the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro capture operation will appear before a judge Friday following allegations that he illegally profited from secret mission details through online gambling, earning over $400,000.
According to federal authorities, Gannon Ken Van Dyke exploited his clearance to classified details regarding the January operation targeting Maduro to generate substantial winnings on Polymarket, a prediction betting platform.
The 38-year-old soldier, previously based at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, faces multiple federal charges filed Thursday including improper use of confidential government data for financial benefit, stealing nonpublic federal information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conducting illegal financial transactions.
Van Dyke potentially faces several years behind bars. No working phone number could be located for him, and legal representation has not yet been documented in court filings.
Court documents reveal Van Dyke participated in approximately one month of planning and executing Maduro’s capture. Despite signing confidentiality contracts prohibiting disclosure of “any classified or sensitive information” about the operations, prosecutors claim he violated these agreements by placing multiple wagers predicting Maduro’s removal from office by January 31, 2026.
FBI Director Kash Patel commented on social media: “This involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation.”
Polymarket representatives stated they identified suspicious trading activity involving classified government intelligence, immediately notified the Justice Department, and “cooperated with their investigation.”
The extraordinarily profitable wagers generated significant public scrutiny following the Venezuelan raid and prompted lawmakers from both parties to demand tighter oversight of prediction markets, where participants can bet on virtually any outcome.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees prediction markets, simultaneously filed its own legal action against Van Dyke on Thursday.
According to the commission’s filing, Van Dyke transferred $35,000 from his personal banking account into a cryptocurrency trading platform on December 26 — approximately one week before American forces entered Caracas and apprehended Maduro.
The complaint details how Van Dyke executed multiple wagers regarding Maduro’s potential overthrow between December 30 and January 2, with most bets placed during the evening of January 2 — mere hours before the initial strikes hit Caracas.
These gambling activities generated “more than $404,000 of profits,” according to the legal filing.
Commission Chairman Michael Selig stated: “The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way.”
