US authorities have arrested a soldier accused of making more than $400,000 through suspicious bets on Polymarket linked to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Prosecutors identified the suspect as Gannon Ken Van Dyke and said he used confidential government information for personal gain.
According to the indictment, Van Dyke was directly involved in planning and carrying out “Operation Absolute Resolve,” the US mission to capture Maduro. In the days leading up to the operation, prosecutors said he bought $33,934 worth of “YES” shares in Maduro and Venezuela-related prediction markets on Polymarket. Those trades later generated profits of $409,881 after the operation became public.
Investigators also claim Van Dyke tried to hide his activity once media reports began focusing on the unusual bets. On January 6, 2026, he allegedly asked Polymarket to delete his account, saying he no longer had access to the email connected to it. Prosecutors said he also changed the email address linked to his cryptocurrency exchange account to another address not registered in his name, which was created in December 2025.
After news of the arrest, Polymarket said it had recently introduced stronger market integrity rules to fight insider trading. The company said that after identifying a user trading on classified government information, it referred the matter to the US Department of Justice and cooperated with the investigation.
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