CFTC orders former White House teleprompter operator to repay Kalshi mention-market profits

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 28 announced and settled charges against Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, saying he used material, nonpublic information from his federal job to trade event contracts on a prediction-market platform for personal benefit. The order requires him to disgorge $107,539.02, pay a $65,000 civil penalty and stay away from prediction markets for three years. Perez consented without admitting the findings.

The agency said the trading ran from December 2025 through February 2026, while Perez was working in the White House. The contracts were presidential mention market contracts, wagers on whether specific words or phrases would appear in speeches, and Perez had access to presidential speeches before they were delivered.

According to the order, he misappropriated that information in breach of a duty of trust and confidence. The CFTC said the penalty was a substantial discount under its new cooperation advisory because of Perez’s exemplary cooperation, and that his trading generated more than $107,500 in profits.

The commission also said Perez agreed to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and its rules. The agency thanked KalshiEX for its assistance, and NBC News reported that Kalshi’s surveillance system flagged the activity.

As covered in August, the CFTC had already been scrutinising mention markets, contracts that let traders bet on whether specific words will be spoken in a speech. This order adds a personal enforcement case to that broader review.