US Special Forces Soldier Pleads Not Guilty in Polymarket Maduro Betting Case

A U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant has pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of using classified information to place bets tied to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke appeared before a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday and denied five charges filed by prosecutors last week. The court released him on a $250,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport while restricting his travel during the ongoing legal proceedings.

The U.S. Justice Department charged Van Dyke with three counts of violating federal commodities laws, one count of wire fraud, and one count of unlawful monetary transaction. If convicted on all counts, he faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison.

Operation Absolute Resolve and Polymarket Betting Allegations

Prosecutors allege that Van Dyke was involved in planning and executing “Operation Absolute Resolve,” a classified special forces mission in Caracas, Venezuela, in January that led to Maduro’s capture. Authorities claim he used advance knowledge of the raid to place about 13 “yes” bets on the prediction platform Polymarket.

Alleged Profits and Parallel Regulatory Action

Investigators said he wagered more than $33,000 on markets predicting U.S. military involvement in Venezuela and Maduro’s removal. The Justice Department alleges he earned nearly $410,000 in profits after several predictions were confirmed. Van Dyke is also facing a parallel civil action from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission over alleged insider trading using classified nonpublic information.