In recent developments, federal regulators are in discussions with the teleprompter operator who has worked closely with former President Donald Trump. The operator, Gabriel Perez, faces allegations of earning nearly $100,000 on the prediction market site, Kalshi. According to sources, these earnings come from his access to the president’s prepared remarks.
Prediction markets, such as Kalshi, allow participants to place bets on various topics including elections, global policies, or public figures’ attire. One specific type, known as “mention markets,” involves wagering on which words or phrases a public figure will say during scheduled events. The increasing popularity of these markets has led to several cases of insider trading, with Perez’s case being the first investigation highlighting suspected malpractices within the White House.
Perez has been under scrutiny by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Alleged irregularities in his betting activities on Kalshi were detected. Investigations found that, using his position, he potentially profited from non-public information by betting on Trump’s public speeches. Prior to Trump’s national address, traders placed substantial wagers totaling over $800,000 on whether Trump would mention terms like “Hormuz,” “rigged election,” or “fake news.”
Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, stated, “Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation. We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected.”
As a consequence, Kalshi froze approximately $90,000 of Perez’s earnings, and his account was suspended from the platform. Perez did not respond to requests for comments, and the investigation details were first reported by ABC News.
The nature of Trump’s speeches, characterized by unpredictability and digression, contributes to volatile trading conditions on Kalshi’s “mention markets.” Some traders even use advanced techniques like installing TV antennas to gain slight timing advantages during live broadcasts.
Using insider, non-public information to gain an edge on Kalshi is against its rules and may constitute wire fraud, commodities fraud, or money laundering under criminal law. At present, it is unclear whether the Department of Justice is involved in Perez’s case.
A memo circulated within the White House in March explicitly warned against using insider information for betting on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. White House staff were informed of the criminal nature of such actions, reiterating that misuse of sensitive government data for personal gain is categorically unacceptable.
This warning came following the indictment of a U.S. Army special forces soldier accused of reaping $400,000 through Polymarket using information about the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Similarly, a Google engineer faced charges after allegedly profiting $1.2 million from confidential data on the platform.
Additionally, former Republican congressman George Santos is under investigation for manipulating a Kalshi market by falsely announcing his presence at Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address, which he ultimately did not attend.