An American special forces man who allegedly made $400,000 from wagering on the operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is now in jail and faces charges. In late December, Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke created an account on Polymarket, a prominent prediction market, according to an unsealed indictment Thursday. He staked almost $32,000 on the idea that Maduro will be completely ousted by January. The wager was quite unlikely.
Prosecutors contend that Van Dyke had access to secret information prior to placing the wager and was engaged in the preparation and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve. The winnings, even if they remained anonymous, were quickly noticed by the police.
An active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, Van Dyke is facing five counts of fraud, theft, misappropriation of government property, and theft. He will initially appear before a judge in North Carolina. He does not appear to have an attorney listed on the court record.
The final of his thirteen claimed wagers, placed between December 27 and January 2, occurred just hours before his midnight arrest. According to the prosecution, Van Dyke transferred over $400,000 of his gains into an online brokerage account after sending them to a foreign cryptocurrency vault.
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