U.S. Special Forces op pleads not guilty to insider trading charges in Maduro raid
A U.S. Special Forces soldier who participated in the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty Tuesday to insider trading charges alleging that he placed bets on the covert operation, federal court papers say.
Gannon Van Dyke, a Master Sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was charged on multiple counts in connection with placing a series of bets on the raid that netted the longtime U.S. soldier some $400,000, the Justice Department announced April 23. The 38-year-old on April 28 entered a plea of not guilty in the Southern District of New York, federal court filings show.
Van Dyke’s legal team on Tuesday indicated they planned to challenge the validity of the indictment.
“Mr. Van Dyke is an American hero, somebody who is charged unfortunately with something that is not a crime,” Van Dyke’s attorney Mark Geragos told reporters after the hearing.
According to Van Dyke’s legal team, the Special Forces operative is on leave from the military.
Federal prosecutors accused Van Dyke of using top-secret information gleaned from planning the raid to make around a dozen bets on the operation on Polymarket, a prediction market where users can bet on everything from the Super Bowl to territorial gains in the war in Ukraine.
The case marks the first time the Justice Department has filed insider trading charges in connection with a prediction market. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed civil charges against Van Dyke, accusing him of insider trading.
According to the Justice Department, Polymarket cooperated in the investigation. Company CEO Shayne Coplan said the company “referred” the case to the department. USA Today has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Van Dyke’s wagers, according to prosecutors, included betting “U.S. forces in Venezuela by” a certain date, the likelihood of Maduro’s removal by a certain date and “will the U.S. invade Venezuela” by or before Jan. 31.
According to a federal indictment, charges against Van Dyke include unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, and multiple kinds of fraud.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Raid to capture Maduro
Maduro, the longtime leader of Venezuela who for years had taken a combative line with the United States, was captured by U.S. forces in the early hours of Jan. 3 and taken to New York City on criminal charges related to drug trafficking.
According to court filings, Van Dyke became involved in the operation starting on Dec. 8, and remained involved until about Jan. 5. Court filings say Van Dyke signed a nondisclosure agreement in connection with the raid when becoming a part of the mission.
It’s unclear what exact role Van Dyke played in the mission but court filings say he was “involved in the planning and execution” of the raid that left dozens of security forces charged with protecting Maduro dead.
The Brown University Costs of War Project estimated the cost of the mission to be about $206 million.
Van Dyke has served in the military since about 2008, according to the federal indictment.
Charged with insider trading
The case marks the first time the Justice Department has filed insider trading charges in connection with a prediction market.
In announcing the indictment, FBI Director Kash Patel signaled the bureau is ready to pursue others placing bets using insider information.
“Any clearance holders thinking of cashing in their access and knowledge for personal gain will be held accountable,” Patel said.
Winning bets placed in connection with the raid to capture Maduro drew attention and speculation of insider trading at the time, but there have been other wagers on unexpected events since then.
Among them, a Polymarket user going by the name “Magamyman” won around $553,000 after placing a series of bets that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be out of power, just hours before United States and Israeli strikes killed him on Saturday, Feb. 28.
Polymarket CEO Coplan said the company flagged the bets related to Maduro’s capture to the Justice Department and indicated it had done so in other instances.
“We flagged this, referred it, and cooperated throughout the process. This happens constantly behind the scenes, despite what many are led to believe,” Coplan said in a statement on X.
A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment on whether there were other cases of prediction market bets under investigation.
This article originally appeared on USA Today
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