TLDR A US Army Special Forces soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, is asking a court to dismiss the CFTC’s civil case against him. The CFTC accuses Van Dyke of using confidential military information to profit on Polymarket contracts tied to Maduro’s removal from power. Prosecutors say Van Dyke turned about $33,000 in bets into more than $400,000 in profit. His defense argues the Polymarket contracts were not “swaps” under the Commodity Exchange Act. The case could shape how courts view the CFTC’s authority over prediction markets going forward.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US Army Special Forces soldier, is trying to get a civil case against him thrown out. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued him in April.
The CFTC says Van Dyke used confidential military information about Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture. It claims he used that information to buy Polymarket contracts betting on whether Maduro would leave office.
Prosecutors say Van Dyke placed roughly $33,000 in bets. They allege he profited more than $400,000 from those trades. A related criminal case is also moving forward alongside the civil case.
Defense Says Contracts Are Not Swaps
Van Dyke’s lawyers filed a letter asking for an early conference with the court. They called the CFTC’s case “unprecedented.”
The central argument is that Polymarket’s Maduro contracts do not meet the legal definition of a “swap.” The CFTC says the contracts count as swaps because their payout depends on whether an event happens.
The defense disagrees. It says the contracts were simple bets on a political outcome, not financial instruments covered by the Commodity Exchange Act.
The filing states that geopolitical bets like these are not swaps and cannot be the basis for legal claims. Every claim in the CFTC’s case depends on the contracts being classified as swaps.