US regulator fines former White House teleprompter operator $172,539 over speech bets
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Gabriel Perez to surrender $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 penalty, saying he used advance access to presidential speeches to trade on prediction markets.
In short
- The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Gabriel Perez to surrender $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 penalty, saying he used advance access to presidential speeches to trade on prediction markets.
A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay $172,539.02 after a US regulator said he used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to profit from prediction-market contracts.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on August 28, 2026, that Gabriel Perez must disgorge $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. The order also imposes a three-year trading ban and requires him to cease further violations of federal market-manipulation rules.
According to the CFTC, Perez placed wagers on the Kalshi platform between December 2025 and February 2026 on words or phrases Trump might use in speeches. The agency said his White House role gave him access to speech material before delivery and that he misappropriated that nonpublic information for personal gain.
The regulator said the financial penalty reflected a substantial reduction because Perez cooperated with its investigation. It also thanked Kalshi for assisting with the case.
Perez had left his White House position by July 2026, after reports that he had been placed on unpaid leave while the matter was investigated. The enforcement action comes as federal authorities and prediction-market operators face increasing scrutiny over trading based on privileged information.
