A U.S. special forces soldier who participated in the U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested and charged for using classified information to bet on the ouster via the prediction market company Polymarket.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday that Gannon Ken Van Dyke faces several charges for using insider information gleaned from his participation in “Operation Absolute Resolve.” These charges include unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction.
“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,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the announcement. “Widespread access to prediction markets is a relatively new phenomenon, but federal laws protecting national security information fully apply.”