The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has fined Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, $172,000 for using inside knowledge to place bets on Donald Trump's speeches. The fine, announced on Friday, includes disgorgement of profits and a civil penalty, marking a significant enforcement action in the growing prediction market industry.
CFTC Details Perez's Unlawful Betting Scheme
According to the CFTC's news release, Perez exploited "material, nonpublic information" gathered through his work for the president to place wagers on the Kalshi platform "for his personal benefit." The agency ordered Perez to disgorge $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. The CFTC noted that these amounts represented "a substantial discount" due to what it called "Perez's exemplary cooperation" with the investigation.
From December to February, while working as a White House teleprompter operator, Perez made bets on Kalshi tied to words or phrases Trump might use during speeches. His role gave him access to speeches before delivery, and he "misappropriated that information" to profit, breaching "his duty of trust and confidence," the CFTC asserted.
Penalties and Departure from White House
In addition to the fine, Perez agreed to "cease and desist from further violations" of federal laws prohibiting market manipulation and CFTC regulations. He also received a three-year trading ban. The CFTC's announcement came about a month after the White House confirmed Perez no longer held his position, though it remains unclear whether he resigned or was fired.
Perez's departure followed reports that he was placed on unpaid leave amid an investigation into whether he used inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on Trump's public appearances, including the State of the Union address in February. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the reports as "deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace." White House personnel records show Perez earned an annual salary of $175,000 for his teleprompter work.
Prediction Markets and Insider Trading Concerns
The case highlights the proliferation of online prediction markets, which allow users to bet on public events and trends, and the associated risk of insider trading. About four months before Perez's fine, federal prosecutors indicted US soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke for allegedly making a $400,000 bet on Polymarket, a Kalshi rival, about whether Nicolás Maduro would be removed from Venezuela's presidency. Van Dyke had worked on the operation to remove Maduro and extradite him to the US on drug-trafficking charges.
Kalshi in April also announced fines against three political candidates who bet on their own elections, including one who wagered on whether he would run for office before announcing an independent campaign for a US Senate seat in Virginia. President Trump has defended the prediction market industry, to which his family has business ties, advocating against state regulation and arguing that the CFTC should handle oversight. In its news release, the CFTC thanked Kalshi for its "assistance … in this matter."
