The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has settled insider trading charges against Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator. Under the regulator’s order, Perez has to cough up $107,539 in illegal gains and pay a $65,000 civil penalty for trading on Kalshi’s prediction market contracts tied to presidential mentions.

What happened

According to the CFTC, between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez used his access to draft speeches at the White House—before they went public—to make trades on Kalshi. The regulator ruled this was a violation of rules barring trading on non-public info.

Sanctions and restrictions

The CFTC order requires Perez to return his profits and pay the fine. He’s also hit with a three-year trading ban and told to knock off any further violations.

Why it matters

This case sends a clear signal: using job-related intel to place bets on prediction markets is squarely on the CFTC’s radar and can lead to hefty fines and lengthy bans from trading.