On Thursday, the Justice Department under President Trump announced the arrest of Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke.
He allegedly bet $30,000 on Polymarket that Nicolás Maduro would be removed from office right before participating in the U.S. raid on the Venezuelan dictator’s compound, winning $400,000.
In response to the arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media: “This case concerns a U.S. soldier who is alleged to have abused his position by profiting from a justified military operation. I extend my gratitude to our dedicated agents, intelligence personnel, and valued partners at the Department of Justice for safeguarding our warfighters. The investigation remains active.”
President Trump weighed in on the controversy, comparing the soldier to Pete Rose because “they both bet on their own teams.”
Trump asked reporters, “Was he betting that they would get him or wouldn’t get him?” When told the soldier bet on Maduro’s removal, the President replied: “That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team.”
In the latest development, U.S. Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke has been formally charged with multiple felonies including unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.
Prosecutors allege that after participating in both the planning and execution of the classified U.S. operation codenamed “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, Van Dyke improperly used sensitive, classified details about the mission to place a lucrative bet on Polymarket.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a strong statement: “Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain. Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply.”
According to the Department of Justice, Van Dyke faces three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act (each carrying a maximum of 10 years in prison), one count of wire fraud (maximum 20 years), and one count of unlawful monetary transaction (maximum 10 years).
