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Ex-White House aide pays $172,539
A former White House teleprompter operator settled allegations that he traded on advance access to Trump speeches.
What happened
The CFTC settled allegations that former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez used advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches to trade Kalshi contracts on words Trump would use. Perez agreed to surrender profits and pay a civil penalty. He no longer works at the White House.
Numbers
- $172,539Total settlement payment — Profits plus civil penalty
- $107,539.02Profits Perez must surrender — From the Kalshi trades
- 3 yearsLength of trading ban — Under the settlement
Questions
- What were the contracts betting on?
- They paid according to whether the president used specified words or phrases, including terms about countries or campaign slogans, in a speech.
- Why was the civil penalty reduced?
- The CFTC stated that Perez provided exemplary cooperation during its investigation, which it treated as grounds for a discounted penalty.
- What does the order bar him from doing?
- Under the settlement, he cannot trade for three years and must cease violations of commodities law and CFTC regulations.
- How was the activity detected?
- Kalshi’s analysts identified unusual betting activity, and the company provided account data that helped the regulator identify the user.
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The catch
Coverage does not say whether Perez was fired or resigned, and includes no response from him.