The Justice Department says an active-duty U.S. special forces soldier has been arrested and charged after allegedly using classified information to profit from bets tied to the Trump administration’s January operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who prosecutors say helped plan and execute the operation, was indicted on charges that include “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 DOJ said.
According to prosecutors, Van Dyke placed 13 wagers totaling about $33,000 on the prediction market Polymarket, taking “yes” positions on questions about whether U.S. forces would invade Venezuela and remove Maduro before the end of January. The government says those bets, placed with nonpublic knowledge of the operation, yielded more than $400,000 in proceeds.
President Donald Trump told reporters he was unaware of the charges and asked whether Van Dyke had been betting the operation would succeed or fail, comparing the case to baseball player Pete Rose’s betting on games and saying betting against one’s own side “would be no good.” Trump has previously said he planned to pardon Rose.
The unsealing of the indictment has heightened concerns that insiders close to the administration may be trading on privileged information. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said the case reflects a broader “culture of insider trading and corruption” that he argued originates at the top of government.
Observers also questioned accountability for those who ordered the Maduro operation. Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the U.S. program at the International Crisis Group, said it is striking that a soldier is being arrested for betting linked to what some critics characterize as an unlawful incursion, and asked who else involved would face scrutiny.
Officials and reporters have flagged other suspiciously timed wagers tied to high-profile military actions, including alleged bets connected to a U.S. military assault on Iran. The Financial Times reported that a broker for Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth sought a multimillion-dollar investment in defense stocks in the weeks before a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who has sponsored legislation to ban wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination and other events where someone knows or controls the outcome, called the Iran-related activity evidence that “the Iran War has become a corruption racket for the people close to President Trump.”
The case against Van Dyke is likely to intensify scrutiny of how prediction markets and private trading intersect with classified operations and who within the government may be using nonpublic information for personal gain.
