Using confidential information about his nation’s upcoming U.S. operation in Venezuela, a U.S. Army soldier with insider information placed prediction market wagers, netting him more than $400,000, the Justice Department said Thursday, announcing charges against Gannon Ken Van Dyke.
Van Dyke participated in the planning and execution of the U.S. military operation to capture Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, called “Operation Absolute Resolve,” and used his access to classified U.S. military information about that operation to personally profit, the indictment states. Maduro had been wanted in the U.S. on narco-terrorism charges.
The charges against Van Dyke arise from an alleged scheme in which the U.S. soldier used sensitive classified information to make wagers on Polymarket, a prediction marketplace. Van Dyke made a series of wagers on the timing and outcome of Operation Absolute Resolve, despite having classified information about the operation, some made just hours before the U.S. invasion into Venezuela that successfully captured Maduro.
Using classified information about the Venezuela operation, Van Dyke allegedly turned $33,034 into $409,881, using prediction wages, then made a series of transfers in an apparent effort to cloak his winnings.
“That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said.
Van Dyke. an active-duty soldier stationed at the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina, had signed nondisclosure agreements in which he promised to “never divulge, publish, or reveal by writing, words, conduct, or otherwise . . . any classified or sensitive information” relating to military operations.
"Today’s announcement makes clear no one is above the law, and this FBI will do whatever it takes to defend the homeland and safeguard our nation’s secrets," FBI Director Kash Patel said. "Any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable."
Those event contracts regarding Operation Absolute Resolve, included the future likelihood of:
- “US forces in Venezuela by” certain dates,
- The future likelihood of Maduro being “out” of or removed from power by certain dates,
- The future likelihood of the U.S. invading Venezuela by on or before Jan. 31, and
- The future likelihood of President Trump “invoking War Powers against Venezuela” by a certain date.
Operation took place January 2-3, 2026, making Van Dyke a winner.
Van Dyke has been charged with three counts of violating the Commodity Exchange Act, one count of wire fraud and one count of an unlawful monetary transaction. Separately, he faces insider trading charges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
When President Donald Trump was asked about the DOJ's announcement, he asked if Van Dyke had wagered that the U.S. would succeed - noting that that's the type of behavior that prompted Major League Baseball to punish Pete Rose, one of the league's legendary players, with a lifetime ban from its Hall of Fame.
Three years after retirement from playing in 1983, Rose was managing the Cincinnati Reds when he was caught gambling on baseball - and even on his own team.
