Federal officials charge US soldier with using classified intel to win over $400K betting on Maduro raid

A US soldier accused of using classified intelligence from a mission to capture Nicolás Maduro has been charged with exploiting that information to make over $400,000 through online betting, federal officials said.

According to prosecutors, Gannon Ken Van Dyke was involved in planning and executing the January operation and used his access to sensitive, nonpublic details to place a series of successful wagers on the prediction platform Polymarket.

Van Dyke, 38, now faces multiple charges including fraud, theft of government information, and unlawful financial transactions, which could carry significant prison time if convicted.

Authorities allege he placed around a dozen well-timed bets predicting US involvement in Venezuela and Maduro’s removal from power, later attempting to conceal his profits through cryptocurrency transfers and account deletion requests.

Officials said the case underscores that access to classified information cannot be used for personal financial gain, even on emerging platforms like prediction markets.