Judge Pauses CFTC Suit Against Soldier Over Polymarket Bets

U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter granted the stay on August 10, siding with prosecutors who argued that allowing the civil case to proceed in parallel with criminal charges would complicate the discovery of overlapping evidence and witnesses. While Van Dyke sought to contest both matters simultaneously, the court determined that the criminal trial—which carries significantly higher stakes—must take precedence. The civil lawsuit remains pending rather than dismissed, effectively placing the regulator’s quest for disgorgement and trading bans on hold.

Van Dyke faces a multi-count indictment, including commodities and wire fraud, for allegedly using his position in Operation Absolute Resolve to wager on geopolitical outcomes before they became public record. Prosecutors claim the soldier deployed a VPN to execute 13 trades on Polymarket between late December and early January, ultimately securing $409,881 in profit. His defense team is currently challenging the indictment, arguing that the event contracts in question do not legally qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. This legal test could set a significant precedent for how federal agencies regulate insider trading on decentralized prediction platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi.