TheBlock
The CFTC ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay more than $172,000 on Friday, settling charges that he used roughly one hour of advance access to President Trump's speeches to trade Kalshi "mention markets" tied to the words Trump would use. The order requires Perez to surrender $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil fine, after the agency credited him a roughly 40% penalty reduction for "exemplary cooperation."
Perez opened his Kalshi account on December 8, 2025 and traded mention markets through March 2026, allegedly reading Trump's prepared remarks before they were delivered and positioning on contracts based on the words in those scripts. He neither admitted nor denied the findings and accepted a three-year trading ban from any CFTC-registered entity.
Why it matters
This is the CFTC's second event-contract insider-trading settlement since late July, both generated by Kalshi referrals, both carrying identical three-year bans. The first, against former congressman George Santos on July 31, involved a contract the defendant could actually influence, a State of the Union attendee market. Perez's case is the cleaner version: straight classic insider trading on non-public information, the kind of case the CFTC has been waiting to bring to test event-contract jurisdiction.
The settlement is also the smallest visible piece of a multi-front regulatory squeeze on prediction markets. In May, federal prosecutors charged Google engineer Michele Spagnuolo with using internal search data to make about $1.2 million on Polymarket, with the CFTC filing a parallel civil case. House Oversight Chair James Comer opened a probe the same month into insider-trading controls at Kalshi and Polymarket, after both platforms tightened identity and geoblocking controls in March. CFTC Chair Michael Selig's agency has separately proposed a dedicated rules framework for event contracts.
Market impact
The settlement lands the same day the Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in its preemption fight with Nevada gaming regulators, holding that federal commodities law does not clearly displace state gambling oversight.
Frequently asked questions
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Who is Gabriel Perez and what did he do?
A former White House teleprompter operator who allegedly read President Trump's prepared remarks about an hour before delivery and used that advance information to place trades on Kalshi mention markets tied to specific words Trump would use in addresses.
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How much did the CFTC order Perez to pay?
More than $172,000 total, broken down as $107,539.02 in disgorged profits and a $65,000 civil fine, plus a three-year ban from trading on any CFTC-registered entity.
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What is a Kalshi mention market?
A Kalshi event contract that attempts to predict specific words a public figure will use in a speech, based on whether those words appear in the prepared text. Traders can take positions on whether a particular word will or will not be mentioned.
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How does the Perez case compare to the George Santos settlement from July?
Both are CFTC event-contract insider-trading settlements carrying identical three-year trading bans, both originated from Kalshi referrals. Santos manipulated a State of the Union attendee market he could actually influence, while Perez's case is straight insider trading on non-public information.
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What other regulatory pressure is Kalshi facing right now?
In May, House Oversight Chair James Comer opened a probe into insider-trading controls at Kalshi and Polymarket. The same month, federal prosecutors charged a Google engineer with using internal search data to make about $1.2M on Polymarket, with the CFTC filing a parallel civil case. The Perez settlement also lands…
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