Soldier Arrested for Allegedly Using Insider Info to Predict Maduro's Capture

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has arrested a special forces soldier who was part of the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Gannon Ken Van Dyke allegedly won $400,000 on Polymarket by predicting the removal of the Venezuelan strongman. The DOJ claimed the soldier made a series of trades totaling more than $33,000, according to ABC News.

Authorities indicted Van Dyke on several federal charges: Unlawful use of confidential information for personal gain, Theft of nonpublic government information, Commodities fraud, Wire fraud. Authorities allege after news broke of the insider trading concerns on the platform, the suspect attempted to delete his Polymarket account.

The White House recently warned staff against using insider information on prediction markets. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has made a similar move, signing an executive order banning state employees from using confidential information in event contracts. In December, a user also won 22 of 23 bets on Polymarket, winning more than $1 million in a single day. In January, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D) filed a bill that would ban government employees from using prediction markets.