The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered a former White House teleprompter operator to pay more than $172,000 to settle charges that he used his advance access to President Trump's speeches to profit from "mention markets" on prediction marketplace Kalshi.
The former employee, Gabriel Perez, was ordered to repay $107,539.02 in profits and pay an additional $65,000 civil fine. The order also bars him from trading on any CFTC-registered entity for three years.
Perez opened an account at Kalshi on Dec. 8, 2025, and traded between December 2025 and March 2026, according to the order. Perez allegedly read Trump's prepared remarks roughly an hour before delivery and placed his trades on Kalshi mention markets, which attempt to predict specific words that public figures will use in addresses, based on the words in the text.
Perez consented to the order without admitting the findings. The CFTC said he received a roughly 40% reduction of the civil penalty after he voluntarily sat for an interview and accepted responsibility, which the agency called "exemplary cooperation".
The CFTC credited KalshiEX for its assistance in the matter. Kalshi head of enforcement Robert DeNault said on X the exchange's surveillance unit caught the trading.
"It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences," DeNault wrote.
The Perez order is the agency's second event contract settlement since late July. On July 31, former congressman George Santos agreed to pay the CFTC about $35,000 over Kalshi trades on a contract asking who would attend February's State of the Union address. The agency found he made misrepresentations about his own attendance on social media while holding positions in the market.
Both orders carry three-year trading bans, and both grew out of Kalshi referrals, though Santos was charged for manipulating a contract under which he had influence, while Perez was charged for trading on insider information.
Private companies have also faced employees using insider information to trade on prediction markets. Federal prosecutors in May charged Google engineer Michele Spagnuolo with using internal search data to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket, and the CFTC filed a parallel civil complaint. House Oversight Chairman James Comer opened a probe in May into insider trading controls at Kalshi and Polymarket, requesting documents detailing how each platform verifies users' identities, enforces geoblocks, and detects suspicious trading activity.
Both platforms had tightened those controls in March, adding screening tools and updated conduct rules. The CFTC has separately proposed a rules framework for prediction markets under Chair Michael Selig.
Also on Friday, the Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in its fight with Nevada gaming regulators, holding that the company had not shown a likelihood that federal commodities law preempts the state's gambling rules, arguably dealing a significant blow to Kalshi's legal posture
Former White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for Kalshi trades on mention markets The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered a former White House teleprompter operator to pay more than $172,000 to settle charges that he used his advance access to President Trump's speeches to profit from "mention markets" on prediction marketplace Kalshi. The former employee, Gabriel Perez, was ordered to repay $107,539.02 in profits and pay an additional $65,000 civil fine. The order also bars him from trading on any CFTC-registered entity for three years. Perez opened an account at Kalshi on Dec. 8, 2025, and traded between December 2025 and March 2026, according to the order. Perez allegedly read Trump's prepared remarks roughly an hour before delivery and placed his trades on Kalshi mention markets, which attempt to predict specific words that public figures will use in addresses, based on the words in the text. Perez consented to the order without admitting the findings. The CFTC said he received a roughly 40% reduction of the civil penalty after he voluntarily sat for an interview and accepted responsibility, which the agency called "exemplary cooperation". The CFTC credited KalshiEX for its assistance in the matter. Kalshi head of enforcement Robert DeNault said on X the exchange's surveillance unit caught the trading. "It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences," DeNault wrote. The Perez order is the agency's second event contract settlement since late July. On July 31, former congressman George Santos agreed to pay the CFTC about $35,000 over Kalshi trades on a contract asking who would attend February's State of the Union address. The agency found he made misrepresentations about his own attendance on social media while holding positions in the market. Both orders carry three-year trading bans, and both grew out of Kalshi referrals, though Santos was charged for manipulating a contract under which he had influence, while Perez was charged for trading on insider information. Private companies have also faced employees using insider information to trade on prediction markets. Federal prosecutors in May charged Google engineer Michele Spagnuolo with using internal search data to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket, and the CFTC filed a parallel civil complaint. House Oversight Chairman James Comer opened a probe in May into insider trading controls at Kalshi and Polymarket, requesting documents detailing how each platform verifies users' identities, enforces geoblocks, and detects suspicious trading activity. Both platforms had tightened those controls in March, adding screening tools and updated conduct rules. The CFTC has separately proposed a rules framework for prediction markets under Chair Michael Selig. Also on Friday, the Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in its fight with Nevada gaming regulators, holding that the company had not shown a likelihood that federal commodities law preempts the state's gambling rules, arguably dealing a significant blow to Kalshi's legal posture. Ref: https://paykalken.com #Kalshi #CFTC #PredictionMarkets #InsiderTrading #CryptoNews #EventContracts #MarketIntegrity #Trading #Regulation #FinTech