A White House teleprompter operator will pay over $172,000 to resolve a federal regulatory probe into allegations that he used precisely timed trades to bet on President Trump's speech content on prediction markets. Gabriel Perez has agreed to pay a $65,000 penalty to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and surrender more than $107,000 in illegal profits.

Perez did not admit to the regulator's allegations that he misappropriated confidential information to profit on the Kalshi prediction platform. The CFTC noted in a press release that the penalty had been "significantly reduced" due to Perez's cooperation with the investigation. He also accepted a three-year trading ban.

"As a White House staff member, Perez knew the information he encountered in his work was confidential and not to be disclosed to anyone outside the White House," the CFTC wrote in its cease-and-desist order. Media reports from July indicated that Kalshi had detected unusual trading activity in March and reported it to the CFTC. A White House spokesperson at the time said the employee had been placed on unpaid administrative leave, though the individual's name was not disclosed.

The CFTC treats prediction market platforms as derivatives exchanges under its jurisdiction. Kalshi's head of enforcement, Robert Dehn, posted on X on Friday evening that the platform had monitored the violating trades. "No matter who you are, if you break platform rules or federal law, you must face the consequences," he wrote.

Perez was alleged to have traded between December 2025 and February 2026, almost exclusively betting on sports and Trump-related contracts on Kalshi. One of the questions he wagered on: "What will Trump say during his speech at the Detroit Economic Club?" According to the CFTC, Perez typically had access to the speech text roughly one hour before the president delivered it.

The case has intensified concerns that prediction markets have opened a new avenue for insider trading. Lawmakers have proposed legislation to crack down on certain betting activities, while the White House has warned staff against using confidential information to wager on these exchanges. Over the past 18 months, platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have surged in popularity, allowing users to bet on everything from sports events to elections.

The so-called "mention contract market" that Perez participated in permits users to wager on whether public figures will use specific phrases during speeches, earnings calls, or post-game press conferences. Both Kalshi and Polymarket have stated they oppose insider trading, actively monitor their markets, and submit leads to law enforcement and federal regulators.