US soldier charged after allegedly making over $400,000 on Maduro raid bet

A U.S. soldier became the first American charged with insider trading through Polymarket after using classified information to make $400,000 in profits through bets on the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, was charged by the Department of Justice with the unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction. The charges stem from his use of classified information to place a bet of $33,000 relating to the U.S. operation to capture Maduro.

According to the DOJ, Van Dyke was involved in Operation Absolute Fury from about Dec. 8 through Jan. 6. He created a Polymarket account on Dec. 26, after which he made around 13 bets from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2. The bets included “YES” wagers on positions including “U.S. Forces in Venezuela … by January 31, 2026”;