US soldier pleads not guilty to insider trading charges over betting on Maduro's ouster

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US Army Special Forces master sergeant, pleaded not guilty on 28 April 2026 to charges of using classified information to place bets on the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The plea was entered in a Manhattan federal court before US District Judge Margaret Garnett.

Van Dyke appeared in court wearing a black blazer and jeans, accompanied by his lawyers Zach Intrater and Mark Geragos.

Van Dyke is accused of wagering approximately $33,000 on a crypto-powered prediction market platform between 27 December 2025 and 2 January 2026.

Prosecutors allege he used insider knowledge from his involvement in Operation Absolute Resolve, a covert military operation that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in early January.

The soldier faces five criminal counts: unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of non-public government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction.

Prosecutors say Van Dyke won more than $400,000 from these bets, which predicted Maduro's removal and the entry of US forces into Venezuela.

This case marks the first insider trading prosecution involving a prediction market filed by the US Department of Justice.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also filed civil charges against Van Dyke.

Van Dyke, 38, is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was involved in the planning and execution of the January raid that captured Maduro.

He was arrested on 23 April and released on a $250,000 bond with travel restrictions, including surrendering his passport and limiting travel to parts of North Carolina, New York, and California.

The prediction market platform flagged Van Dyke's trading activity and cooperated with authorities.

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