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Insider bets on Kalshi
A teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump, Gabriel Perez, was ordered to pay a $65,000 civil penalty and turn over more than $100,000 in profits after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said he used “material, nonpublic information” from the president’s speeches to place prediction market bets on Kalshi.
“ordered to pay $172,000”
The CFTC said Perez traded “presidential mention market contracts,” which are event contracts based on words or phrases the President might use in his speeches, and it ordered him to repay $107,539.02 in profits.
The CFTC announced the settlement on Friday, August 28, and it also imposed a three-year trading ban on Perez for prediction markets.
CBS News reported that the settlement was announced Friday and that Perez was placed on unpaid leave after it was determined he used his position to make bets on what President Trump would say in speeches.
NBC News said the White House did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment and that Perez could not be reached for comment.
Kalshi and CFTC penalties
Kalshi’s lead lawyer Bobby DeNault said, “A Kalshi surveillance investigation caught a White House staffer engaging in prohibited trading activity,” and he added that the individual was “subjected to penalties by the CFTC and by our exchange.”
NBC News reported that the CFTC cited Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” when announcing the fine and penalties Friday.
According to CBS News, Kalshi froze Perez’s account, locking more than $90,000 in profits he made on the platform, after Kalshi’s surveillance systems detected trades that didn’t adhere to typical buying and selling patterns.
The CFTC said Perez made $107,500 on prediction markets by betting on words and phrases that would appear in Mr. Trump’s speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.
Telemundo reported that Perez was ordered to pay the money he obtained, 107,539.02 dólares, and that he was banned from operating in prediction markets for three years.
White House reaction and fallout
In July, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the trades as a breach of ethics and called them “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace,” while NBC News said Perez was placed on leave in July.
“deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace”
NBC News quoted Leavitt saying, “this individual will no longer be here,” and CBS News reported that a White House official said Perez was no longer in his position but did not say if he had been fired or resigned.
The CFTC said Perez misappropriated presidential speeches prior to those speeches being delivered, “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence,” as CBS News reported.
The settlement also dealt Perez a three-year trading ban, and CBS News said the commission found he made $107,500 on prediction markets by betting on words and phrases that would appear in Mr. Trump’s speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.
South China Morning Post reported that Perez, who has since left the White House, made US$107,500 from bets on what Trump would say in speeches, and it said the settlement ordered him to turn over more than US$100,000 in profits and pay a US$65,000 fine.