Full Breakdown
Former White White House Teleprompter Operator Fined for Insider Trading on Prediction Market
8/30/2026, 2:03:57 AM
Insider Trading Settlement
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on August 28 that Gabriel Perez, the White House teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump since 2016, must surrender $107,539.02 in illicit profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. He also received a three-year ban on trading prediction-market contracts. The CFTC said Perez breached a “duty of trust and confidence” by using advance access to presidential speeches to place bets on Kalshi, an online prediction-market platform.
How the Bets Were Made
From December 2025 to February 2026, Perez wagered on “presidential mention market contracts” that pay out if specific words or phrases appear in Trump’s remarks. Kalshi’s surveillance flagged the activity, identified the trader as a federal employee, and referred the case to regulators.
Financial Penalties and Enforcement
- Profits to be returned: $107,539.02
- Civil monetary penalty: $65,000 (reduced for “exemplary cooperation”)
- Trading ban: three years, with a cease-and-desist order for any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act
Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Bobby DeNault, noted that the platform’s rules prohibit insider trading and that the penalties were enforced jointly by the exchange and the CFTC.
Official Reactions
- CFTC statement: The commission called the case “insider trading” and highlighted the reduced penalty due to Perez’s cooperation.
- President Trump: Trump has defended the prediction-market industry and argued that regulation should be handled by the CFTC rather than individual states.
Broader Implications
The settlement reflects heightened regulatory scrutiny of online prediction markets, which let users bet on public events such as political speeches and economic data releases. Regulators contend that insider access to nonpublic information can distort markets that influence foreign-exchange, oil, and equity prices. The case follows a prosecution of Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who allegedly bet $400,000 on a market tied to the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Conflicting Figures & Gaps
Most sources report the illicit profit as $107,539.02, matching the CFTC release. A few outlets round the amount to “about $107,500.” The civil penalty is consistently cited as $65,000. No public information confirms whether Perez resigned or was terminated; the White House has only said he “will no longer be here.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “A Kalshi surveillance investigation caught a White House staffer engaging in prohibited trading activity. Today this individual was subjected to penalties by the CFTC and by our exchange,” — Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s lead lawyer
- “The order finds that between December 2025 and February 2026, while working as a teleprompter operator for the White House, Perez traded presidential mention market contracts, which are event contracts reflecting words or phrases the President may use during his speeches,” — The CFTC
