CFTC fines former White House teleprompter operator $172,000 for Kalshi insider trading

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay over $172,000 to settle insider trading charges. Perez used advance access to President Donald Trump's prepared speeches to place winning bets on Kalshi's "mention markets" between December 2025 and March 2026. He must disgorge $107,539.02 in profits, pay a $65,000 fine, and serve a three-year trading ban. The case highlights growing regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets.

Perez Kalshi insider trading case

• ▪Gabriel Perez, who worked for Donald Trump since the 2016 campaign and earned $175,000 annually as a deputy assistant, was placed on unpaid leave in July 2026 and subsequently left his position
• ▪Gabriel Perez opened an account at Kalshi on December 8, 2025, and executed 49 trades on "mention markets" between December 2025 and March 2026, winning 39 of those trades
• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay over $172,000 to settle charges of insider trading on the prediction market Kalshi

White House speech advance access

• ▪Gabriel Perez placed bets on what President Donald Trump would say at events including the State of the Union, the National Prayer Breakfast, a Medal of Honor ceremony, and various rallies
• ▪Gabriel Perez accessed prepared remarks of President Donald Trump roughly an hour before delivery, using the confidential text to place bets on Kalshi's "mention markets."

CFTC settlement financial penalties

• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission reduced Gabriel Perez's civil penalty by approximately 40% from its original amount due to his exemplary cooperation and voluntary admission of guilt
• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Gabriel Perez to disgorge $107,539.02 in trading profits and pay a civil penalty of $65,000
• ▪The settlement terms bar Gabriel Perez from trading on any Commodity Futures Trading Commission-registered entity or the Kalshi platform for a period of three years

Kalshi surveillance detection system

• ▪Kalshi's internal surveillance unit detected abnormal trading activity on Trump-related mention markets, traced the account to Gabriel Perez, and referred the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• ▪Kalshi head of enforcement Robert DeNault stated on the social media platform X that anyone who violates the exchange's rules or federal law will face consequences

Prediction market enforcement cases

• ▪Former Republican Representative George Santos agreed to pay the Commodity Futures Trading Commission $35,000 and accepted a three-year trading ban over Kalshi trades concerning State of the Union attendance
• ▪House Oversight Chairman James Comer launched an investigation in May 2026 into the insider trading controls, user verification, and geoblocking mechanisms of Kalshi and Polymarket
• ▪Federal prosecutors charged Google engineer Michele Spagnuolo with using internal search data to make approximately $1.2 million on the prediction platform Polymarket