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A White House teleprompter operator who used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to bet on what the president would say has been ordered to pay nearly $173,000 and stop trading for three years, federal regulators announced Friday.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Gabriel Perez, Trump’s teleprompter operator since 2016, misappropriated material, nonpublic information obtained through his government job to trade event contracts on Kalshi, a prediction market platform, for his personal benefit.
Perez, who was placed on paid administrative leave in July amid the investigation into his conduct, was ordered to surrender $107,539 in trading profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty.
The CFTC also imposed a three-year trading ban and ordered Perez to cease and desist from further violations of federal commodities laws and regulations.
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Gabriel Perez was ordered to surrender $107,539 in trading profits, pay a $65,000 civil penalty and accept a three-year trading ban, according to the CFTC. (Reuters / Reuters)
The CFTC found that between December 2025 and February 2026, while working as a White House teleprompter operator, Perez traded “presidential mention market contracts,” which reflected words or phrases Trump might use during his speeches.
The event contracts paid out based on whether Trump used specific words or phrases during his public remarks.
According to the CFTC, Perez had access to presidential speeches before they were delivered and “misappropriated” that information in “breach of his duty of trust and confidence” to make the trades.
Perez generated more than $107,500 in profits, according to the agency.
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A White House teleprompter operator used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to make more than $107,000 betting on words or phrases Trump would use, according to the CFTC. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
His $65,000 civil penalty represented a “substantial discount” because of his “exemplary cooperation” with the investigation, the CFTC said.
Robert DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement, reacted to the enforcement action, saying traders who violate the company’s rules must be held accountable.
“A Kalshi surveillance investigation caught a White House staffer engaging in prohibited trading activity,” DeNault wrote on X.
“Today this individual was subjected to penalties by the CFTC and by our exchange,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences.”
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Gabriel Perez, a White House teleprompter operator, was ordered to pay a $65,000 civil penalty and surrender more than $107,000 in trading profits, according to the CFTC. (John Moore/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The trading activity first came to light months ago after Kalshi’s surveillance systems flagged a series of unusual trades involving markets tied to words and phrases expected to appear in Trump’s public remarks.
Kalshi previously said the trades stood out because they did not follow typical trading patterns and also drew complaints from market makers through the platform’s whistleblower channels.
After reviewing account information, the company said it identified the trader as a federal employee who worked as a White House teleprompter operator.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally for U.S. Senator Darline Graham (R-SC) at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S., August 21, 2026. (REUTERS/Evan Vucci / Reuters Photos)
Kalshi froze the account before Perez could withdraw most of the profits, the company previously said, and referred the matter to federal regulators.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed Perez’s conduct during a White House press briefing in July, saying Trump had been briefed on the matter.
“Obviously, I’m aware of the report. The president is, too. I spoke with him about it,” Leavitt said. “He believes it’s deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.”
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FOX Business has reached out to the White House for comment and an update on Perez’s employment status.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
