The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, said on Aug. 28 that it had sanctioned former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez for using nonpublic information from President Donald Trump’s speech drafts to trade prediction market contracts. Under the order, Perez must disgorge $107,500 in illicit profits, pay a $65,000 civil monetary penalty, and is barred from trading for three years.
CFTC says Perez used early access to Trump speech text
In its release, the CFTC said Perez worked as a White House teleprompter operator from December 2025 to February 2026. During that period, he was able to see Trump’s speech drafts before the president delivered the remarks publicly.
The agency found that Perez breached duties of trust and confidentiality tied to his job and used that nonpublic information for personal trading. The contracts involved were “mention market” event contracts tied to which words or phrases the president might use in a speech. The CFTC said those trades generated more than $107,500 in profit.
Disgorgement, penalty and trading ban ordered
Under the CFTC order, Perez must return the $107,500 in unlawful gains and pay a separate $65,000 penalty. The agency also barred him from trading activity for three years.
The input also states that Perez came under scrutiny after Kalshi detected unusual trading patterns, and that he ultimately lost his White House job. The CFTC separately thanked Kalshi, identified as KalshiEX, for assisting with the investigation.
Part of a broader CFTC push on prediction markets
This case is not an isolated one. The input says the CFTC has taken multiple actions this year tied to insider trading concerns and regulatory gaps in prediction markets, including a case involving a U.S. soldier allegedly using internal information on Polymarket, as well as warnings that high-frequency trading incentive mechanisms on some platforms could raise wash trading and manipulation concerns.
With the White House teleprompter case now resolved, the CFTC again stressed its role as an enforcement authority in prediction markets and is expected to keep watching insider trading risks in these event-contract markets.