Gannon Ken Van Dyke, the US soldier accused of making more than $400,000 by trading Polymarket event contracts with nonpublic information, is opposing an effort by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to weigh in on his criminal case.

In a filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke’s lawyers argued that the regulator should not be allowed to submit an amicus brief on issues tied to the prosecution, including whether event contracts offered on platforms such as Polymarket fall within the CFTC’s authority as swaps.

Defense pushes back on regulator’s role

Van Dyke’s legal team said the CFTC is attempting to advance its own interests through a friend-of-the-court brief instead of litigating those questions directly in its own case. The filing frames the agency’s request as an effort to influence the criminal matter while a separate civil action remains on hold.

The dispute centers in part on the defense position that event contracts on platforms like Polymarket are not swaps under the CFTC’s purview. That question could affect how the conduct alleged by prosecutors is interpreted in the broader prediction-market context.

Criminal charges stem from Maduro-linked contracts

US authorities charged Van Dyke with fraud in April. Prosecutors allege he traded Polymarket contracts tied to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January while in possession of nonpublic information about the operation.

According to the allegations, those trades generated more than $400,000. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to the criminal case.

Parallel civil case has been paused

The CFTC is also pursuing a civil case against Van Dyke, but a federal judge has stayed that proceeding until the criminal matter is resolved. That pause is central to the defense argument that the agency is seeking another route to press its view before the court.

By opposing the amicus filing, Van Dyke’s lawyers are effectively asking the court to keep the criminal case focused on the charges brought by prosecutors rather than on additional arguments from the regulator whose separate case is currently suspended.

What comes next

The immediate question is whether the Southern District of New York will permit the CFTC to participate through an amicus brief. That decision would shape how much the regulator can weigh in on the legal status of the contracts at issue before the criminal trial begins.

For now, the criminal case remains the main venue. A trial could begin in late 2026 or early 2027, while the CFTC’s stayed civil action is set to remain on hold pending the outcome of that proceeding.

Source: cointelegraph.com