US soldier ‘won $400,000 from bet using classified information’

A US soldier involved in the capture of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro made $400,000 after betting the mission would be successful.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a master sergeant with U.S. Army Special Forces, used classified information to place wagers, the Justice Department said.

He allegedly made bets on prediction market Polymarket the US would enter Venezuela and Maduro would be out of power in the weeks leading up to the January 3 capture.

Van Dyke, 38, has been charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft ⁠of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

When President Donald Trump was asked about the case, he said it reminded him of Pete Rose who was banned from Major League Baseball over gambling scandal.

He said: ‘That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team. If he bet against his team, that would be no good, but he bet on his own team. I’ll look into it.’

Van Dyke uploaded a photograph on his Google account in the early morning of January 3, hours after the U.S. military brought Maduro to the USS Iwo Jima ⁠amphibious assault ​ship.

‘That photograph depicts Van Dyke on what appears to be the deck of ​a ship at sea, at sunrise wearing U.S. military fatigues, and carrying a rifle, standing alongside three other individuals wearing U.S. military fatigues,’ the indictment read.

Polymarket wrote on X: ‘Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today’s arrest ​is proof the system works.’

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said: ‘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.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.