Nicolás Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after touchdown at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by closely armed Federal brokers as they make their approach into an armored automotive en path to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026 in New York Metropolis.
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A U.S. Military soldier was arrested on a federal indictment accusing him of utilizing categorised data to make bets that received him $400,000 on the Polymarket prediction market associated to the American navy mission that captured Venezuelan chief Nicolás Maduro, the Division of Justice stated on Thursday.
The soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, “participated within the planning and execution of the” operation to seize Maduro, the DOJ stated.
The arrest comes as Polymarket and Kalshi have elevated in recognition and as issues have grown about individuals with inside data making wagers on these prediction market platforms.
Van Dyke, 38, is anticipated to be introduced on Thursday night to a Justice of the Peace decide in federal court docket for the Jap District of North Carolina.
The Fayetteville, North Carolina, resident is charged with three counts of violating the Commodity Trade Act; one depend of wire fraud; and one depend of illegal financial transaction. He faces a most doable sentence of 20 years in jail if convicted of the highest felony depend, wire fraud, and as much as 10 years in every of the remaining counts.
The Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee, which regulates prediction markets, individually charged Van Dyke in a civil grievance for allegedly utilizing categorised nonpublic data to make the wagers associated to the Maduro seize mission.
Each the felony and civil circumstances towards Van Dyke have been filed in New York Metropolis, within the U.S. District Court docket in Manhattan.
President Donald Trump, when requested about Van Dyke’s arrest and different circumstances of suspected insider buying and selling on prediction markets, stated, “You already know the entire world, sadly, has change into considerably of a on line casino.”
“And also you have a look at what is going on on everywhere in the world, in Europe and each place, they’re doing these betting issues,” Trump stated. “I used to be by no means a lot in favor of it. I do not prefer it conceptually, however it’s what it’s … I am not proud of any of that stuff.”
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is “each an investor in and an unpaid adviser to Polymarket, and a paid adviser to Kalshi, the 2 largest prediction markets,” The New York Instances famous in a report in January.
Appearing Legal professional Basic Todd Blanche, in an announcement on Van Dyke’s arrest, stated, “Our women and men in uniform are trusted with categorised data with the intention to accomplish their mission as safely and successfully as doable, and are prohibited from utilizing this extremely delicate data for private monetary achieve.”
“Widespread entry to prediction markets is a comparatively new phenomenon, however federal legal guidelines defending nationwide safety data absolutely apply,” Blanche stated.
CNBC has requested remark in regards to the case from Polymarket.
