Ex-White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for Trump speech bets
Also reported by ABC News
Summary
A former White House teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, has been ordered to pay over $172,000 for using secret information about President Trump’s speeches to make bets on a prediction market platform. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) found he misused his knowledge and banned him from trading for three years.Key Facts
- Gabriel Perez worked as a teleprompter operator at the White House.
- He made bets on what President Trump would say during speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.
- Perez used a platform called Kalshi, where users bet on real-world events.
- The CFTC ordered Perez to give up $107,539 in profits and pay a $65,000 fine.
- He cooperated with the investigation, which reduced his penalty.
- Perez has been banned from trading for three years.
- Kalshi noticed unusual betting patterns linked to a federal employee and reported this to regulators.
- The White House warned its staff not to bet on prediction markets in July 2026.
