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CFTC fines former White House teleprompter operator $172,000 for Kalshi trades
The order also requires Gabriel Perez to repay about $107,539 in profits and bars him from trading on any CFTC-registered entity for three years.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has ordered Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, to pay more than $172,000 to settle charges tied to Kalshi event contract trading. According to The Block, the CFTC said Perez used advance access to President Trump’s prepared remarks to profit from Kalshi “mention markets,” which are designed to predict specific words public figures will use in speeches. The order requires Perez to repay $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty, with the agency citing a discounted penalty after what it called “exemplary cooperation.”
The Block reports that Perez opened a Kalshi account on December 8, 2025, and traded between December 2025 and March 2026. The CFTC alleged he reviewed the prepared remarks roughly an hour before delivery, then placed trades on the prediction marketplace based on the text.
The CFTC also barred Perez from trading on any CFTC-registered entity for three years, and the order reflects his consent without admitting the findings. The Block added that the CFTC credited KalshiEX for assistance, and Kalshi enforcement leadership said the exchange’s surveillance unit detected the trading.