A former White House employee reportedly leveraged confidential insights from President Donald Trump's speeches to earn over $100,000 on the prediction market platform Kalshi.
Gabriel Perez, who served as the teleprompter operator for Trump, is no longer with the federal government, as confirmed by the Associated Press. A White House official, speaking anonymously, stated that Perez has departed, but did not clarify whether he resigned or was terminated.
Previously, Perez had been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) concerning alleged insider trading linked to Kalshi’s prediction markets.
Reports indicate that Perez, who has been operating the teleprompter since 2016, made his profits by betting on more than a dozen of Trump’s speeches over a span of three months. These included significant events such as Trump’s State of the Union address and a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Allegedly, he also adjusted his bets during speeches when Trump strayed from his scripted remarks.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed her dismay at the situation, labeling the allegations as “deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.” She confirmed that Perez has been placed on unpaid leave.
As of now, neither the CFTC nor the Department of Justice has taken any enforcement action against Perez. Reports suggest that federal prosecutors opted not to pursue criminal charges after being briefed by the CFTC. However, discussions about a potential civil settlement with Perez are ongoing, which could involve him returning his alleged earnings and agreeing to avoid similar actions in the future.
Kalshi’s Head of Enforcement, Robert DeNault, mentioned that their surveillance team had detected the suspicious trading activities and reported them to regulators. He noted that the company freezes accounts upon identifying such activities and does not publicly disclose ongoing investigations.
If the CFTC decides to take action against Perez, this case could become another notable example of insider trading within prediction markets, differing from other recent cases that involved confidential governmental information.