CFTC Fines Former White House Teleprompter Operator in Prediction Market Insider Trading Case

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday that former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez agreed to pay $172,000 to settle allegations that he used advance access to presidential speeches to trade on prediction markets. According to ChainCatcher, Perez was able to place bets on known outcomes because his job gave him access to speech content before it was released. Between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez allegedly made more than $107,500 from the activity. Under the settlement, he must surrender $107,539.02 in ill-gotten gains, pay a $65,000 civil penalty, accept a three-year trading ban, and stop further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC said the penalty was sharply reduced under its new cooperation policy and praised Perez for providing exemplary assistance during the investigation. It also thanked Kalshi for helping with the case. The agency said the matter highlights insider-trading risks as prediction markets grow in popularity.