CFTC files insider trading action against US service member over Nicolás Maduro-related event contracts

On April 23, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced that it filed a civil enforcement action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Gannon Ken Van Dyke (Van Dyke), an active-duty US Army service member, alleging insider trading in connection with event contracts tied to the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.¹ In the complaint, the CFTC alleges that Van Dyke used classified, nonpublic information regarding a US military operation to trade on Polymarket, a prediction market platform. The action is the first time the CFTC has brought insider trading charges involving event contracts, which the CFTC asserts are “swaps” under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and, therefore, under its regulatory purview. Additionally, the action is also the first time the CFTC has used what is commonly referred to as the “Eddie Murphy Rule” to bring charges based on the misuse of government information. The “Eddie Murphy Rule” or Section 4c(a)(4) of the CEA generally prohibits government employees from using material nonpublic information for personal gain when trading. The action against Van Dyke comes less than a month after Director of Enforcement, David I. Miller, emphasized the CFTC’s enforcement priorities and ability to prosecute illegal uses of government information to trade in the derivatives markets at a public speaking event.²

Background and complaint allegations

Prediction markets like Polymarket allow participants to buy and sell contracts tied to the outcomes of future events. In its complaint, the CFTC alleges that Van Dyke obtained nonpublic classified or sensitive information through his involvement with the US military operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.³ Between December 30, 2025 and January 2, 2026—prior to any public announcement of the operation—the CFTC claims that Van Dyke used this information to purchase more than 436,000 “Yes” shares in a Polymarket event contract tied to whether Maduro would be removed from power by January 31, 2026. The CFTC asserts Van Dyke misappropriated the nonpublic government information by using it to trade and in doing so, violated his duty of trust and confidentiality to the US government. 

When US forces captured Maduro on January 3, 2026, Van Dyke earned over $400,000 in profits on Polymarket. The complaint charges violations of multiple provisions of the CEA and CFTC regulations, including Section 6(c)(1) and Regulation 180.1, as well as Sections 4c(a)(3) and 4c(a)(4)(C), which generally prohibit trading on and misappropriating nonpublic government information. As relief, the CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans and injunctive relief. On the same day that the CFTC filed its action against Van Dyke, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also announced the unsealing of an indictment against Van Dyke in the same court, asserting allegations similar to those set out in the CFTC’s complaint.

Practical Implications

The CFTC’s decision to bring this insider trading action involving event contracts signals that it views prediction markets as falling within the broader framework of regulated derivatives markets and is likely to continue stressing that participants in these markets are subject to the same anti-fraud and market integrity obligations that apply elsewhere.

As a result, companies and market participants should expect heightened regulatory scrutiny and the possibility of additional enforcement actions in this area. Firms active in, or exposed to, prediction markets should review their compliance programs, trading controls, and policies governing the use of confidential information to assess potential regulatory risk and exposure.

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If you have any questions about this Legal Briefing, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys listed or the Eversheds Sutherland attorney with whom you regularly work.

_{1 See Press Release No. 9217-26 (Apr. 23, 2026), CFTC Charges U.S. Service Member with Insider Trading in Nicolás Maduro-Related Event Contracts, available here.
2 See David I. Miller, Chairman, CFTC (Mar. 31, 2026), Remarks at NYU Law School – CFTC Enforcement Priorities, Insider Trading in the Prediction Markets, and Cooperation with the CFTC, available here.
3 Complaint at 1, CFTC v. Van Dyke, No. 1:26-cv-3369, (S.D.N.Y. filed Apr. 23, 2026), available here.}