CFTC Orders Ex-White House Staffer to Pay $172K for Insider Trading on Kalshi

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay $172,539.02 after finding that he used advance access to presidential speeches to trade event contracts on prediction market Kalshi.

According to the CFTC’s August 28 order, Perez traded presidential “mention” contracts between December 2025 and February 2026, while he was working at the White House.

The contracts were based on whether President Donald Trump would use particular words or phrases during public speeches. The CFTC said Perez had access to relevant speech material before it was publicly delivered and used that information in his personal trading.

CFTC says trades used material nonpublic information

The regulator said Perez’s position at the White House gave him access to information that was not yet available to the public.

According to the order, he used that information when taking positions in Kalshi contracts tied to presidential remarks.

The CFTC determined that the conduct involved the misappropriation of material, nonpublic information and violated Perez’s duty of trust and confidence associated with his government position.

The trades generated more than $107,500 in profits, with the CFTC ordering Perez to surrender the exact amount of $107,539.02.

Settlement includes $65K civil penalty

The CFTC’s order requires Perez to surrender the profits and pay an additional monetary penalty.

The CFTC ordered Perez to pay $107,539.02 in disgorgement and a $65,000 civil monetary penalty, imposed a three-year trading ban, and issued a cease-and-desist order covering further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

The CFTC said the civil penalty was reduced because Perez cooperated with the agency’s investigation.

Kalshi’s surveillance identified the trading

The CFTC credited KalshiEX with assisting in the investigation.

Kalshi Head of Enforcement Robert DeNault said on X that the exchange’s surveillance systems detected the activity.

A Kalshi surveillance investigation caught a White House staffer engaging in prohibited trading activity. Today this individual was subjected to penalties by the CFTC and by our exchange.

It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the… pic.twitter.com/fyKFEzcXAv

— robertjdenault (@robertjdenault) August 29, 2026

DeNault said the case demonstrated that Kalshi’s trading rules and federal requirements apply regardless of a trader’s position.

The CFTC’s order, rather than Kalshi’s statement, establishes the findings and penalties in the case.

Presidential mention contracts at center of case

The case involves a type of event contract based on whether a president uses a particular word or phrase during a speech.

These contracts differ from conventional derivatives because their outcomes depend on a specific real-world event rather than the price of an underlying financial asset.

That structure became relevant in Perez’s case because his work involved presidential speech material before public delivery.

The CFTC’s action therefore focused on the information Perez had access to and how he used it in the market.

Enforcement raises questions for prediction markets

The case comes as prediction markets expand into political, economic, sports and other event-based contracts.

The Perez order shows that CFTC rules concerning the misuse of material nonpublic information can apply to these markets when traders have access to information unavailable to other participants.

That creates particular compliance challenges for contracts linked to government announcements, corporate decisions and other events where certain individuals may receive information before the wider public.

The case does not establish that prediction markets themselves are unlawful. Instead, the CFTC’s action concerns the conduct of an individual trader and his use of information obtained through his government position.

Case follows other CFTC action involving Kalshi

The enforcement action follows another recent CFTC case involving Kalshi.

Earlier this month, the agency ordered former congressman George Santos to pay a financial penalty and accept a trading ban after finding that he manipulated a Kalshi event contract concerning his own attendance.

The two cases involve different allegations. Santos’ case concerned market manipulation, while Perez’s case involved the use of material nonpublic information.

Together, the proceedings illustrate the different types of trading conduct the CFTC can examine on prediction-market platforms.

Prediction markets face increasing oversight

Prediction markets have expanded rapidly in the United States, but their growth has also brought greater attention from regulators and lawmakers.

Questions around market manipulation, insider trading, consumer protection and the classification of event contracts remain under discussion as platforms expand into new categories.

For Perez, the CFTC settlement ends the agency’s civil enforcement proceeding with a financial obligation and a three-year prohibition on trading. 

For the wider prediction-market industry, the case adds another example of regulators applying existing derivatives rules to trading activity on emerging event-based markets.

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