In the United States, a special forces serviceman, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, has been detained on suspicion of fraud for using classified information regarding a special operation in Venezuela for personal gain.
This is reported by Finway
How the Soldier Earned Over $400,000 from Betting
Van Dyke was directly involved in the operation to detain Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. At the same time, he was placing bets on the Polymarket platform regarding the entry of American troops into Venezuela. Thanks to his insider knowledge of the upcoming operation, the special forces officer was able to win over $400,000 by using confidential information, which is a violation of US law.
Investigators found that Van Dyke wagered over $33,000 on events related to the entry of American troops into Venezuela and the removal of Maduro from power by the end of January 2026. The winnings were initially transferred to a foreign cryptocurrency wallet and later to a new brokerage account.
Investigation and Charges
After media reports surfaced about abnormal betting on events in Venezuela, Van Dyke attempted to cover up his activities. In particular, he contacted Polymarket’s support service requesting to delete his account, falsely claiming that he had lost access to his email.
Currently, the serviceman faces three charges of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, each of which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. These include fraud, theft of confidential government information, and illegal financial transactions.
“Prediction markets are not a refuge for the use of illegally obtained confidential or secret information for personal gain,” emphasized prosecutor Jay Clayton, who brought charges against the serviceman.