The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay $172,539 after finding he used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches for prediction-market trades. The CFTC Fine includes $107,539.02 in profit repayment and a $65,000 civil penalty as part of a federal settlement.
According to the CFTC, Perez had engaged in trading “mention market” contracts of the online exchange platform Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026 while working in the White House.
The contracts pay out depending on certain words being mentioned in speeches of presidents. Regulators found that this trading was facilitated by Perez’s insider access to the information obtained in the process of performing governmental duties.
The case is an example of the problem associated with prediction markets and potential misuse of advance knowledge of political events.
Prediction market contracts provide participants with the possibility of making trades based on certain events in politics. Access to non-public information before public disclosure may result in the violation of market regulations.
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CFTC Fine Includes Three-Year Trading Ban
According to the agreement, Perez will have to pay back his entire trading profits and will be banned from trading for three years. In addition, the person committed to refrain from any violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and regulations issued by the CFTC fine.
The amount of the penalty was decreased to $65,000 due to the “exemplary cooperation” from Perez during the investigation conducted by the regulator.
After the trading activities became known, Perez was put on unpaid leave from his job in the White House and stopped working for the federal government. It is known that prior to that he worked in technical adviser and teleprompter positions in the Trump administration with access to presidential speeches.
Kalshi Surveillance Flags Suspicious Trading
Kalshi detected Perez’s activity through its internal surveillance systems after identifying trading patterns that differed from typical market behavior. The platform froze his account and locked more than $90,000 in profits before referring the matter to the CFTC fine. KalshiEX also received credit from regulators for assisting with the investigation.
The incident carries broader implications as prediction markets expand their role in political and economic event trading. Regulators face the challenge of maintaining fair markets while these platforms attract more participants and increasingly sensitive contracts. Trading based on confidential information can distort prices and reduce confidence among ordinary market participants.
The White House had separately warned employees against placing prediction-market bets using nonpublic information. The Perez case gives that guidance greater significance by demonstrating that violations can result in financial penalties, repayment requirements and trading restrictions.
For prediction-market users, the key takeaway is that access to confidential information can create serious regulatory consequences.
The CFTC Fine also signals that federal oversight extends beyond traditional financial assets to event-based contracts when they fall under commodities regulations. Further enforcement could shape how platforms monitor insider activity and protect market integrity.
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