In the weeks leading up to Maduro's January 3 capture, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a Master Sergeant with US Army Special Forces, used sensitive classified information to make wagers on prediction market Polymarket that US forces would enter Venezuela and that Maduro would be out of power.
A grand jury in Manhattan federal court indicted Van Dyke, 38, on charges of 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.
The case appeared to mark the first time the department had brought insider trading charges involving a prediction market.
"Our men and women in uniform are trusted with classified information in order to accomplish their mission as safely and effectively as possible, and are prohibited from using this highly sensitive information for personal financial gain," Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Defence lawyer information for Van Dyke was not immediately available. He is expected to be presented before a judge in North Carolina later on Thursday, the Justice Department said.
The Pentagon deferred comment to the Justice Department.
Asked by reporters about the arrest, President Donald Trump said he was not familiar with the case but that it reminded him of Pete Rose, who was banned from Major League Baseball over a gambling scandal.
"That's like Pete Rose betting on his own team," Trump said. "If he bet against his team, that would be no good, but he bet on his own team. I'll look into it."
In a post on X, Polymarket said it had referred the matter to the Justice Department.
"Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today's arrest is proof the system works," the post read.
