Trump Teleprompter Operator Ordered to Pay $172,000 Over Illegal Prediction Market Trading

Gabriel Perez, who worked as U.S. President Donald Trump's teleprompter operator, has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 for illegally trading on an online prediction market using confidential government information, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Friday.

According to the CFTC, Perez used material, non-public information obtained through his White House role to place trades on contracts predicting whether Trump would use specific words or phrases in upcoming speeches.

The agency ordered Perez to disgorge $107,539.02 in illegal profits, pay a $65,000 civil monetary penalty, and barred him from trading on prediction markets for three years.

The CFTC said Perez carried out the trades through Kalshi, an online prediction market platform. The regulator credited the company with assisting in the investigation.

In a post on X, Kalshi Chief Legal Officer Bobby Dinault said the platform's surveillance systems detected suspicious trading activity linked to a White House employee.

"Kalshi's surveillance systems uncovered prohibited trading by a White House official," Dinault wrote. "Today, the CFTC and our exchange took enforcement action, including financial penalties and other sanctions."

He added that anyone who violates Kalshi's rules or federal law would be held accountable, regardless of their position.

The CFTC described the case as insider trading, saying Perez traded "Presidential Mention Market Contracts"—prediction market contracts allowing participants to wager on whether the president would mention specific words or phrases during official speeches.

Perez served as a technical aide to President Trump and had worked as his teleprompter operator since 2016.

While announcing the settlement, the CFTC noted Perez's "extraordinary cooperation" during the investigation.

White House Response
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment following Friday's announcement. Perez also could not be reached for comment.

The case first became public in July, when then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described Perez's online trading as an ethical violation, calling it "deeply unfortunate and truly shameful."

Perez was placed on administrative leave in July, and Leavitt later said, "This individual will no longer be here."