US soldier pleads not guilty to charges of betting on Nicolás Maduro’s ouster

Key Points:

• US Army Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to fraud charges related to using insider information to win $400,000 betting on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
• Van Dyke allegedly placed $33,000 in bets on prediction market Polymarket between December 2025 and January 2026, wagering that Maduro would be ousted and US forces would enter Venezuela, events considered unlikely by the market.
• This case is the first insider trading charge involving a prediction market filed by the US Justice Department, with additional civil charges brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
• Van Dyke, involved in the January raid capturing Maduro and his wife, faces five criminal counts including unlawful use of confidential government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and unlawful monetary transactions.
• Polymarket reported Van Dyke’s suspicious trading to authorities, and he was released on a $250,000 bond pending trial, with US District Judge Margaret Garnett presiding over the case.