According to the CFTC, Gabriel Perez, a former technical assistant to the president who operated the teleprompter for President Trump since 2016, used his position to make profitable bets on what the president would say in speeches. The settlement, announced Friday, also includes a three-year trading ban for Perez.

How the Investigation Unfolded

Perez made $107,500 in profits by trading on prediction markets between December 2025 and February 2026, the CFTC said — he was placed on unpaid leave from his White House position after the matter was uncovered, according to sources familiar with the case. A White House official previously confirmed that Perez was no longer in his role but did not specify whether he had been fired or resigned.

According to the CFTC, Perez had access to presidential speeches before they were delivered and used that information to trade in contracts tied to the words and phrases Trump might use. The commission stated that this constituted a breach of his duty of trust and confidence.

Response from White House and Kalshi

The White House has strict ethics guidelines that staff are expected to follow, and in March 2026, an internal memo was issued warning staff against using nonpublic information to place bets on prediction markets, according to sources confirmed to ABC News.

Kalshi, the platform where Perez made his bets, froze his account after its systems detected unusual trading patterns, as a spokesperson for Kalshi confirmed to CBS News in July that the company had referred the case to the CFTC after investigating Perez’s activity. More than $90,000 in profits was locked in his account during the investigation.

Settlement and Cooperation

The CFTC noted that the $172,000 settlement includes a $65,000 civil penalty and the repayment of the $107,500 in profits; the commission described the penalty as a “significant ” due to Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” during the investigation.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in June that Perez had been placed on unpaid administrative leave following the ABC News report on the case. The White House has not commented further on the CFTC settlement.

This case adds to growing scrutiny of how government employees handle nonpublic information and the potential for misuse in speculative markets.