A former longtime White House teleprompter operator will hand over more than $172,000 after federal regulators found he used advance knowledge of President Trump’s speeches to cash in on prediction-market bets.
Gabriel Perez, who ran the teleprompter for Trump since 2016, settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday. He must return $107,539 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. A three-year trading ban is also in place.
According to the CFTC, Perez traded so-called “mention market” contracts on Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026. These contracts pay out based on whether specific words or phrases appear in a speech. As teleprompter operator, Perez saw the prepared remarks before the President delivered them and used that nonpublic information to place winning bets.
The agency said he misappropriated the material “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence,” generating over $107,500 in profits. The $65,000 penalty was reduced because of Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” with investigators. Kalshi flagged the activity and assisted the probe.
Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed earlier that Perez was placed on unpaid administrative leave after the allegations surfaced. He is no longer employed by the federal government. The White House has long maintained strict ethics rules and previously warned staff against using nonpublic information for prediction-market bets.
ABC News first reported the investigation last month. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan were notified but declined to pursue a criminal case.
Kalshi’s lead lawyer welcomed the outcome, stating that no one is above the rules. The settlement closes the matter on a staffer who broke trust—and underscores that even in the White House, the rules apply.
