Ex-White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for Trump speech bets

What the report says

A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 after U.S. regulators said he used nonpublic information about President Donald Trump’s speeches to place bets on a prediction markets platform. The BBC reported that Gabriel Perez made trades on what Trump would say during addresses between December 2025 and February 2026 on Kalshi, a site where users can wager on outcomes tied to real-world events.

According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Perez must give up $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. The agency said he misused his access to Trump’s speech information in violation of his duty of trust and confidence. He has also been barred from trading for three years. The BBC said the penalty was lowered because of his cooperation with investigators.

The case was first flagged after Kalshi said it noticed unusual activity in so-called “mention markets,” where users predict whether a speaker will use particular words or phrases. The company said it identified the user as a federal employee working on White House teleprompters and reported the matter to regulators. The White House has not commented publicly on the settlement, and in July then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Perez was on unpaid leave and would not return to his role.

The episode adds to broader scrutiny of prediction markets, which have drawn attention because political remarks can influence financial markets as well as betting activity.