Gabriel Perez, a former Trump administration teleprompter operator, has agreed to pay more than $172,000 and accept a three-year ban from regulated trading after federal regulators accused him of insider trading on presidential speeches. The settlement, reached with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), brings a rare look inside the intersection of Washington access and prediction market speculation.
The CFTC’s enforcement action centered on Perez’s access to President Trump’s speeches before they were delivered. Regulators alleged that Perez used this advance knowledge to make a series of profitable trades on Kalshi, a prediction market platform that allows users to wager on the outcome of political and policy events. The CFTC stated, “In his position, Perez had access to presidential speeches prior to those speeches being delivered and Perez misappropriated that information, in breach of his duty of trust and confidence.”
Perez placed bets on more than a dozen Trump appearances, including the State of the Union, a Davos address, and a Medal of Honor ceremony, according to Newsmax. The CFTC determined Perez earned $107,500 in profits from these trades between December 2025 and February 2026.
Kalshi’s internal surveillance team flagged what it considered unusual trading patterns tied to Perez’s activity. According to Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault, “Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation.” The exchange froze more than $90,000 in alleged profits before withdrawal, as Breitbart reported.
Kalshi’s referral prompted the CFTC to open a formal investigation. Federal prosecutors reviewed the case but ultimately declined to pursue criminal charges, Newsmax noted. The allegations, however, raised broader concerns about insider trading risks as prediction markets gain popularity in Washington and on Wall Street.
Perez, who had operated the White House teleprompter since 2016, was placed on unpaid leave and subsequently left the federal government. The White House confirmed that its ethics policies “explicitly prohibit” staff from using nonpublic information for personal gain, as Breitbart detailed.
President Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, offered a blunt assessment of the situation. She told Newsmax, “The allegations are deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.” In a similar vein, she stated to Breitbart that Trump “believes it’s deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.”
The CFTC settlement requires Perez to surrender all of his alleged profits, totaling $107,500, and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. The agency said the penalty was reduced due to Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” during the investigation, as outlined by Just The News. In addition to the financial penalties, Perez is banned from trading on Kalshi or any other regulated market for three years.
The full breakdown of the settlement amount, $107,500 in forfeited profit and a $65,000 penalty, matches the $172,500 figure cited by the Washington Examiner. The Examiner also reported that Perez no longer works for the federal government, and that federal authorities have not released any evidence of criminal wrongdoing beyond the CFTC’s findings.
Perez’s case has sent a signal to both government employees and the rapidly growing prediction market sector. The CFTC’s enforcement action highlights that even non-traditional forms of trading, like event contracts and political wagers, fall under the same anti-fraud rules that govern stocks and commodities.
The investigation also underscored the need for robust internal controls at both federal agencies and private market operators. Kalshi’s referral of the case and the White House’s rapid response both played key roles in bringing the matter to a close. Still, regulators and ethics officials will likely face further questions as prediction markets continue to expand and attract new types of participants.
Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether any other government employees are under investigation for similar activity. No public results have been released about whether additional Kalshi users may have misused government information for trading purposes. The CFTC settlement brings closure to Perez’s case, but the broader questions about prediction markets and insider knowledge remain active for Congress, regulators, and the public.
As the ethics spotlight lingers over Washington and Wall Street, the Perez case reminds all public servants that trust is not a blank check, and that the rules must apply, regardless of job title or political era.
