Ex-White House aide fined $172,539 for Trump speech bets
What's new: Gabriel Perez also took a three-year trading ban after regulators found he used advance speech access on Kalshi contracts.
A former White House teleprompter operator agreed to pay $172,539 after US regulators found he used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to place illegal bets on what the president would say. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Gabriel Perez traded Kalshi “mention market” contracts from December 2025 through February 2026 while working at the White House. Under the settlement, Perez must give up $107,539.02 in profits, pay a $65,000 civil penalty, stop further violations and stay out of trading for three years. Regulators said he used material non-public information from speech drafts for personal gain. The agency said it reduced the penalty because Perez cooperated with the investigation.