New York judge suspends CFTC case against U.S. soldier

A federal judge in New York has suspended a civil lawsuit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant. The suspension follows a request from federal prosecutors to allow a parallel criminal case to proceed first.

Van Dyke is accused of using non-public information to earn more than $400,000 in prediction markets, specifically involving Polymarket contracts related to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Department of Justice alleges the soldier had access to private information regarding the outcome of the event.

The legal proceedings highlight ongoing regulatory tensions regarding prediction markets. The CFTC maintains that many event-based contracts fall under its jurisdiction as derivatives, while platforms argue they operate under different regulatory frameworks. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty and has challenged the legal basis of the CFTC's authority to classify these contracts as swaps. A criminal trial is expected to take place in late 2026 or early 2027.