Insider Trading Settlement
Former White House Teleprompter Operator Fined Over Prediction Market Bets
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Trending on XAI Use in White House Communications
Key Points
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Total penalties and cooperation discount: The CFTC ordered Perez to pay a total of $172,539, including repay of $107,539.02 in profits and a $65,000 civil penalty; the penalty amount was described as a substantial reduction due to his 'exemplary cooperation' with the investigation, and a three-year trading ban was imposed.
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Specific Kalshi contract type and trading window: Perez traded Kalshi's 'mention market' contracts—payouts based on whether President Trump uses certain words or phrases—during December 2025 through February 2026 while still at the White House.
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White House reaction: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the settlement 'unfortunate' and 'a disgrace' in responding to the case.
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Admission of wrongdoing: The settlement did not require Perez to admit to a misappropriation of inside information; Bloomberg reported that the agreement was reached 'without admitting' the claims of the regulator.
Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, settled an insider-trading case with federal regulators. KCRA reports he must pay nearly $173,000 total — including $107,539 in profits and a $65,000 penalty. He also faces a three-year ban from trading on Kalshi prediction markets.
Perez used advance knowledge of President Trump's speeches to bet on whether Trump would use certain words or phrases. Vox reports he made these trades from December 2025 through February 2026 while still working at the White House. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) called his actions a misuse of confidential government information.
How the Teleprompter Operator Made His Bets
Perez traded Kalshi's 'mention markets' — contracts that pay out if Trump says specific words during speeches. Voz explains he earned over $100,000 in profits by correctly predicting which phrases Trump would use. He had a unique advantage: he wrote or reviewed the speeches before Trump delivered them.
The CFTC said Perez broke his duty of trust by using non-public information from his government job for personal profit. His actions represent a rare case of insider trading tied directly to presidential speech content rather than traditional markets.
Settlement Without Admitting Wrongdoing
The CFTC and Perez reached a settlement without requiring him to admit guilt. KCRA reports regulators offered a significant discount on penalties — from a larger potential fine to $65,000 — because Perez cooperated fully with the investigation.
He must repay $107,539 in illegal profits earned from the trades. The three-year suspension from Kalshi means he cannot place any bets on prediction markets through early 2029. Perez is no longer employed at the White House.
White House Calls Settlement 'a Disgrace'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded sharply to the case. She called the settlement 'unfortunate' and criticized what she viewed as unfair treatment. Her comments suggest the White House disputes the severity of the charges or their handling.
The case highlights the growing tension between government access and financial markets. As prediction markets expand and become more popular, regulators are watching for officials who might exploit inside information. This settlement sets a precedent for how such violations will be handled.
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