The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay $172,539 for using advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to trade prediction-market contracts on the Kalshi exchange. Perez traded “mention market” contracts between December 2025 and February 2026, profiting from nonpublic information gained through his governmental duties. The settlement includes $107,539 in profit repayment and a $65,000 civil penalty, reduced due to his “exemplary cooperation.” Kalshi’s surveillance system flagged the suspicious activity, froze his account and referred the case to regulators. Perez also received a three-year trading ban.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a $172,539 fine against former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez after determining he used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches for prediction-market trades. The settlement includes $107,539 in profit repayment and a $65,000 civil penalty, as part of a federal agreement.
According to the CFTC, Perez engaged in trading “mention market” contracts on the online exchange platform Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026 while working in the White House. These contracts pay out depending on certain words being mentioned in presidential speeches.
Regulators found the trading was facilitated by Perez’s insider access to information obtained while performing governmental duties. The case highlights problems associated with prediction markets and the potential misuse of advance knowledge of political events.
The agreement requires Perez to repay all trading profits and imposes a three-year trading ban. He also committed to refrain from violating the Commodity Exchange Act. Due to “exemplary cooperation” during the investigation, as stated by the CFTC, the penalty was reduced to $65,000.
Kalshi detected Perez’s activity through its internal surveillance systems after identifying trading patterns that differed from typical market behavior. The platform froze his account and locked more than $90,000 in profits before referring the matter to the CFTC, which credited KalshiEX for assisting with the investigation.
After the trading became known, Perez was put on unpaid leave from the White House and stopped working for the federal government. He had previously served in technical adviser and teleprompter roles with access to presidential speeches.
The White House had separately warned employees against placing prediction-market bets using nonpublic information. The Perez case demonstrates that violations can result in financial penalties, repayment requirements and trading restrictions.
