US arrests soldier who allegedly made $400k on Maduro Polymarket bets

We knew someone made over $400,000 on suspicious Polymarket bets around the US operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, but now we have a name: Gannon Ken Van Dyke. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced Thursday that Van Dyke is in custody, on several charges, including using confidential government information for personal gain.

As described in the indictment, prosecutors allege Van Dyke was directly involved in the planning and execution of “Operation Absolute Resolve” to capture Maduro, and in the days before the capture, made several transactions purchasing “$33,934 worth of ‘YES’ shares on Maduro and Venezuela-related markets,” eventually profiting $409,881. Photo by )

Once media reports surfaced about the bets, however, they claim that Van Dyke tried to cover his tracks:

In a press release, US Attorney Jay Clayton stated, “Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain.” However, as we reported recently, many viral posts on social media would say differently.

Gannon Van Dyke is now facing five counts, including three for violating the Commodity Exchange Act and one for wire fraud, which carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, and one for an unlawful monetary transaction that carries a 10-year maximum prison sentence.