The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has ordered Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, to pay $172,500 for using early access to President Trump's speeches to trade on prediction markets. The CFTC announced the penalty on Friday. Under the settlement, Perez must return $107,500 in illegal profits and pay $65,000 as a civil penalty. He also agreed to a three-year trading ban and promised to stop violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC rules.
The CFTC says Perez worked at the White House from December 2025 to February 2026. During that period, he traded Kalshi contracts tied to mentions of Trump. Kalshi runs a regulated prediction market where users buy contracts based on whether specific real-world statements or events take place. The contracts at issue were part of Kalshi's “mention market” lineup, which turns on whether a named public figure is mentioned. The settlement requires Perez to give up the full amount of illegal gains plus the civil fine, bringing his total obligation to $172,500. The CFTC's order also bars him from trading for three years.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday ordered Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, to pay $172,500 for trading on prediction markets with information from President Trump's speeches that he had obtained in advance.
Perez, who worked at the White House from December 2025 through February 2026, traded Kalshi contracts tied to mentions of Trump during his time in the role. The CFTC said the trading was illegal under commodities rules.
The penalty has two parts. Perez must give up $107,500 in unlawful profits and pay a $65,000 civil fine. He also agreed to a three-year trading ban and committed to stop violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
Kalshi's “mention market” contracts allow users to wager on whether a named public figure appears in a specific context. Here, the contracts were based on whether Trump would be mentioned. The settlement with the CFTC resolves the regulator's case against Perez, who served as a teleprompter operator at the White House in the period covered by the order.
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