Federal authorities arrested a U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant Thursday for allegedly using classified information about a military raid on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to win more than $400,000 in online bets.

The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, charging him with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction. Van Dyke, a master sergeant with the Army Special Forces based at Fort Bragg, participated in the planning and execution of the January raid that captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas.

Prosecutors said Van Dyke placed about $33,000 in wagers on Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform, between December 26, 2025, and January 2, 2026. The bets targeted contracts on whether U.S. forces would land in Venezuela, remove Madur,o or invade the country. The wagers paid off handsomely after U.S. special forces carried out the operation on January 3, netting him roughly $400,000 in profits.

After the raid, Van Dyke allegedly tried to cover his tracks. He asked Polymarket to delete his account, changed his email address, and moved the winnings through cryptocurrency, including bridging to USDC and sending funds to a foreign "vault" before transferring them to a brokerage account.

Polymarket spotted the suspicious trading tied to classified information and referred the case to the DOJ, cooperating fully with investigators. The massive profits had drawn media scrutiny in January as a "mystery trader" windfall, fueling speculation about insider knowledge.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, "The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit. That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law."

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig added, "The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way."

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized, "Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain." FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle Jr. said, "Van Dyke allegedly betrayed his fellow soldiers by utilizing classified information for his own financial gain."

President Donald Trump commented during a press event, "The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino... I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it conceptually."

The raid occurred in the early hours of January 3, 2026, when U.S. Delta Force commandos captured Maduro without casualties on the American side. Maduro now faces U.S. charges related to narcotics trafficking and other crimes. Van Dyke joined the Army in 2008 and was promoted to master sergeant in 2023.

The case, filed in Manhattan federal court, includes three counts under the Commodity Exchange Act, each carrying significant penalties. Van Dyke's arraignment details were not immediately available Thursday evening.