A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who helped plan and participated in the raid to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged in connection with placing bets on the top-secret operation, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a Master Sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, participated in the Jan. 3 raid and played a role in planning the operation dating back to Dec. 8, according to the Justice Department. Van Dyke, 38, placed a series of bets ahead of the mission that earned him over $400,000.
The Justice Department announced on April 23 that the soldier was indicted on charges in connection with placing bets that relied on classified information.
"Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain," said Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. "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."
