The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, to pay $172,539.02 for insider trading on the prediction market platform Kalshi.
Between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez used his position to access presidential speeches before public delivery and placed bets on Kalshi's presidential mention market contracts—event contracts reflecting specific words or phrases the President may use during speeches. The CFTC found that Perez misappropriated this information in breach of his duty of trust and confidence.
Perez won 39 of 43 contracts on Kalshi, purchasing them before the market incorporated the information and outcomes. According to the CFTC order, Perez must disgorge approximately $107,539.02 in profits and pay an additional $65,000 civil monetary penalty. The reduced penalty reflects what the CFTC described as Perez's exemplary cooperation with the agency.
The settlement also imposes a three-year trading ban on Perez, who has agreed to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
The case reflects growing regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets as platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi have expanded in popularity. It follows charges against Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a commando accused of using insider information to bet on political events in Venezuela. Van Dyke entered a not guilty plea on April 28, 2026, and his case remains open.
