Former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez fined $172,000 for insider trading in prediction markets

Odaily News The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated that former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez has agreed to pay $172,000 to settle charges related to misusing advance information from presidential speeches to trade "presidential mention market" contracts. Such contracts settle based on whether specific words or phrases appear in presidential speeches.

Perez profited over $107,500 between December 2025 and February 2026. The settlement includes disgorgement of $107,500 in profits, payment of a $65,000 civil monetary penalty, acceptance of a 3-year trading ban, and cessation of violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.

The CFTC stated that Perez's penalty was significantly reduced under its new cooperation policy due to his cooperation with the investigation, and acknowledged the assistance provided by trading platform Kalshi. The CFTC noted that event contracts fall within its regulatory scope and that insider trading rules apply to相關 swap contracts. (Decrypt)