Teleprompter Operator Fined for Insider Trading on Prediction Markets

A federal agency announced that Gabriel Perez, a former teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump, has been ordered to pay $172,000 in fines and penalties for engaging in illegal trading based on insider information from presidential speeches.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported that Perez used “material, nonpublic information” from his position to place trades on a prediction market, resulting in profits of $107,539.02. In addition to returning these gains, Perez is required to pay a $65,000 civil penalty.

Perez has also received a three-year ban from trading on prediction markets. He conducted his trading through the platform Kalshi, which played a role in uncovering the misconduct.

“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,” stated Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s lead lawyer, in a post on X.

“It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences,” he added.

The White House did not provide immediate comment on the situation, and Perez was unavailable for comment.

The CFTC labeled the incident as insider trading, emphasizing that Perez traded “presidential mention market contracts,” which are event contracts based on whether specific words or phrases might be used by the President in his speeches.

Perez had been part of the presidential technical staff since 2016, supporting Trump as a teleprompter operator. Although Perez cooperated fully during the CFTC’s investigation, the agency noted this cooperation only when announcing the penalizations.

In July, then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the trading actions as an ethical breach, declaring them “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.” She also stated that Perez was placed on administrative leave in July and would not be returning to his role.