Politics
Former White House Teleprompter Operator Ordered to Repay $107,000 Over Insider Trading
A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to surrender more than $107,000 in profits and pay an additional $65,000 civil penalty aft...
By Wavers Multimedia
Gabriel Perez reached a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which also imposed a three-year ban on trading.
Federal regulators found that Perez used information from presidential speeches before they were delivered publicly to trade contracts on Kalshi, a prediction-market platform. The contracts were based on whether Trump would use particular words or phrases during his speeches.
The trading took place while Perez was working at the White House, with regulators determining that he had access to the prepared remarks before the public.
Between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez made approximately $107,539.02 from the trades. Under the settlement, he must return those profits and pay the $65,000 penalty, bringing the total financial obligation to $172,539.02.
The penalty was reduced because of Perez's cooperation with the investigation. He agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying the regulator's findings.
Perez's activity had previously led to him being placed on unpaid leave. He is no longer working for the federal government.
The case centers on the use of confidential information for financial gain and raises further questions about how prediction markets should handle traders who have access to nonpublic information.
Kalshi's prediction markets allow users to trade contracts tied to the outcome of events, including whether certain statements or words will appear in public speeches. In Perez's case, his position gave him access to information that was not yet available to the general public.
The regulator's action also underscores the growing scrutiny surrounding prediction markets as their popularity expands in the United States.
By ordering Perez to repay his gains, imposing an additional fine and barring him from trading for three years, authorities have made clear that access to confidential government information cannot be used as a personal financial advantage.