Former White House teleprompter operator fined $172,539 for insider trading on Trump speech market
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered ex-White House teleprompter staffer Gabriel Perez to pay $172,539 after he used advance knowledge of President Donald Trump’s speeches to trade on a prediction-market platform.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on Aug. 28 that Gabriel Perez, a former teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump, will pay $172,539 for illicit trading activity. Perez accessed drafts of Trump’s speeches before they were delivered and used that non-public information to trade “mention market” contracts on the Kalshi platform from Dec. 2025 through Feb. 2026. Those contracts pay out based on the president’s use of particular words or phrases.
The settlement requires Perez to disgorge $107,539.02 in earnings, incur a $65,000 civil fine, and observe a three-year prohibition on trading, along with a cease-and-desist order under the Commodity Exchange Act. He was placed on unpaid leave and is no longer employed by the federal government. The CFTC noted his “exemplary cooperation” in the investigation, which contributed to a reduced penalty, and acknowledged assistance from KalshiEX.
Why it matters
It shows that insider information from the White House can trigger enforcement actions in financial markets.
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