Published On 4/24/2026
In a statement yesterday, Thursday, the US Department of Justice accused a US Army soldier named Gannon Ken Van Dyke of exploiting confidential information to make profits through the “PolyMarket” forecasting platform, based on data related to the timing of the US military operation that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The ministry said that Van Dyke – who participated in the operation to arrest Maduro – made more than $400,000 by trading on various results related to Venezuela, after being informed of data related to the confidentiality of the operation.
According to what was stated in the ministry’s statement, Van Dyck (38 years old) created an account on the platform on December 26, 2025, funded it and began trading in markets linked to Venezuela. He made about 13 bets between December 27 and January 26, according to the ministry.
The soldier was accused of violating “the trust granted to him by the American government” by using secret information related to a sensitive military operation, in order to bet on the timing and results of that operation and achieve financial profits.
Van Dyke faces 3 charges of violating the Commodity Exchange Law, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, in addition to a charge of electronic fraud, with a penalty of up to 20 years, and an illegal financial transaction charge, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years.
The Ministry indicates that in 2025, the “PolyMarket” platform began offering bilateral event contracts related to the possibility of events related to Venezuela or Maduro.
These contracts included the possibility of the presence of US forces in Venezuela by specific dates, the possibility of Maduro leaving power or being removed, the possibility of the United States invading Venezuela, in addition to the possibility of US President Donald Trump activating war powers laws against Venezuela.
