The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is trying to weigh in on the criminal case against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US soldier accused of using nonpublic information to trade Polymarket event contracts, but Van Dyke’s defense team is pushing back.
In a Monday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke’s lawyers opposed the CFTC’s effort to submit an amicus brief. The filing said the agency had asked the court for permission to present its views on several defense arguments, including whether event contracts offered on platforms such as Polymarket are "swaps" subject to CFTC oversight.
Defense attorneys sharply challenged that move. "The CFTC is no sheep ‘friend of the Court’ here," they said. "It is a regulatory wolf, with its own case against Mr. Van Dyke that it refuses to pursue itself. Rather, like a true coursing predator, the CTFC seeks to advance its own interests through the back door of an amicus brief instead of facing its own case against Mr. Van Dyke head on. This Court should not countenance the CFTC’s litigation gambits."
The dispute centers on Polymarket event contracts
US authorities charged Van Dyke with fraud in April. Prosecutors allege that he traded event contracts on Polymarket in January tied to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro while having access to nonpublic information about the operation.
According to the allegations, Van Dyke made more than $400,000 through those trades.
The case has become one of the examples cited by lawmakers and critics of prediction markets as they argue that platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket can be vulnerable to manipulation.
Civil case is paused while the criminal case moves ahead
A federal judge previously ordered the CFTC’s civil case against Van Dyke to be stayed pending the outcome of the criminal proceeding.
Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His criminal trial could potentially begin in late 2026 or early 2027.
Fight over regulatory scope continues in court
The latest filing shows that one of the central issues is how event contracts on prediction market platforms should be treated under US commodities law. The CFTC wants to address that question in the criminal case, while Van Dyke’s lawyers argue that the regulator is using the filing to advance its own interests rather than acting as a neutral party assisting the court.