The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is requesting a federal judge in New York to postpone a planned pre-motion conference in its insider trading lawsuit against US Army Special Forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke. In a recent filing, the agency asked the court to delay the conference while a separate request to pause the civil case is considered.
The request comes after the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York moved to intervene in the case and is asking for a full stay until related criminal proceedings are finished. The CFTC argues that granting this stay would avoid unnecessary litigation over a motion that may not be addressed for some time.
The latest development follows a request from Van Dyke's attorneys to move quickly toward considering dismissal of the civil complaint. They argued that the allegations have already caused serious negative effects on Van Dyke's reputation, career, and family, and urged the court to move the case forward as expeditiously as possible.
The CFTC sued Van Dyke in April, accusing him of misusing confidential government information obtained during operations targeting former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The commission alleges that Van Dyke used classified planning information to place wagers on a prediction market that ultimately earned him a significant profit.
Van Dyke has signaled that he will argue that the prediction market contracts do not qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. His lawyers contend that the contracts were settled based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a specified future event with potential financial, economic, or commercial consequences.
The CFTC rejected these arguments, stating that the contracts fall squarely within the unambiguous definition of a swap under the Commodity Exchange Act. The agency also argued that its complaint plausibly alleges that the contracts depended on whether a specified event occurred and involved potential financial or commercial consequences.
The court has not yet ruled on the requested stay, and the case continues to unfold in the US District Court in New York.
