A U.S. Army soldier who helped capture a former Venezuelan president won $400,000 in a secret operation, authorities said.
Explosions occur in Caracas as US captures President Maduro in overnight raid
Explosions occurred in Caracas and neighboring states as US forces occupied Maduro, Venezuela, amid claims of military invasion.
A U.S. Army special forces member who helped plan the raid to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been indicted on charges of gambling on a secret operation, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who was stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, participated in the Jan. 3 attack and played a role in planning the operation dating back to Dec. 8, according to the Department of Justice. Van Dyke, 38, made a series of bets ahead of the mission and made more than $400,000.
The Justice Department announced on April 23 that the soldier had been indicted on charges related to betting on classified information.
“Prediction markets have no place in exploiting confidential or sensitive information for personal gain,” said Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Defendants allegedly violated the trust of the U.S. government by using classified information about sensitive military operations to bet on and profit from the very timing and outcome of those operations. This is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law.”
“Those tasked with protecting our nation’s secrets have a duty to protect themselves and our service members, and must not use that information for personal financial gain,” Creighton added.
Van Dyke’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Charges against Mr. Van Dyke include wire fraud and violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, a 1936 law that regulates trading markets. If convicted on all charges, the 38-year-old faces up to 40 years in prison.
Maduro, Venezuela’s longtime leader who has long been at war with the United States, was arrested by U.S. forces in the early hours of January 3 and taken to New York City to face criminal charges related to drug trafficking.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the soldier placed about a dozen bets on Polymarket. Polymarket is a prediction market that allows users to bet on everything from the Super Bowl to territorial gains in the Ukraine war.
Prosecutors said Van Dyke’s bets included bets on “U.S. troops being in Venezuela” by a certain date, the likelihood that President Maduro would be removed from office by a certain date, and bets on “whether the United States will invade Venezuela” by January 31st.
USA TODAY previously reported that Polymarket users bet $32,000 related to the attack and won more than $400,000. Van Dyke’s total award amounted to $409,881, according to the Department of Justice.
According to the federal indictment, Van Dyke has served in the military since 2008.
The indictment notes that Van Dyke signed documents agreeing to “never divulge” classified information throughout his military career, including at the beginning of his involvement in the Maduro operation.
“By misappropriating that information and using it to effectuate transactions, Mr. Van Dyke breached his duty of trust and confidentiality to the source of the information and violated certain undertakings made by Mr. Van Dyke to the United States regarding the use of the information,” the indictment states.
According to court documents, the soldier converted his winnings into virtual currency to avoid detection.
A special forces soldier is likely to be the first person to be charged in connection with using classified information to make money in prediction markets.
FBI Director Kash Patel has indicated that the FBI is prepared to go after people who gamble using insider information.
“Permit holders who seek to cash in access or knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable,” Patel said.
Winning bets made in connection with Maduro’s capture drew attention at the time and speculation of insider trading, but other bets on unforeseen events have since been made.
In it, a polymarket user named “Magamiman” won about $553,000 after placing a series of bets on Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei being overthrown, hours before he was killed in a US and Israeli airstrike on Saturday, February 28th.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether there are other prediction market gambling cases under investigation.
Contributions by Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Michelle Del Rey
