ABC News reports investigators suspect Trump teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez traded on speech details.
Why it matters: The case could become a first-known enforcement test for insider-trading-style rules in prediction markets. It also raises questions about how markets tied to political speeches and live events can be policed.
- Federal investigators at the CFTC believe Gabriel Perez used nonpublic knowledge of Trump speech content to trade Kalshi 'mentions' markets.
- ABC News says Perez has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016 and is in talks with regulators over more than $100,000 in alleged profits.
- Kalshi says its surveillance team flagged the activity, froze Perez's account, locked more than $90,000 in profits and referred the matter to the CFTC.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump put Perez on unpaid administrative leave after being briefed.
Federal investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission believe Gabriel Perez, President Donald Trump's longtime teleprompter operator, used nonpublic information about speech content to bet on Kalshi's Trump-related mentions markets, ABC News reported.
Those contracts let traders bet on whether a public speaker will say certain words, phrases or topics during an event. Kalshi's market rules say people employed by the source agencies, as well as anyone with material nonpublic information about the event, are barred from trading the contracts on the exchange's Trump mention market.
ABC News reported Perez has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016 and is talking with federal regulators over allegations he made more than $100,000 from the trades. The reporting says the trades covered more than a dozen Trump speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier in 2026.
Kalshi said its surveillance team flagged the activity, froze Perez's account, locked more than $90,000 in profits and referred the matter to the CFTC, according to CBS News in its report on the case. Bobby DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said, "Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Perez was placed on unpaid administrative leave and that Trump made the decision after being briefed on the matter. Perez's 2025 White House financial disclosure lists him as a Technical Advisor to the Trump-Vance White House and shows prior service in Trump's first administration in a disclosure filed with the White House.
By the numbers
- More than $100,000 - Alleged betting profits ABC News attributed to Perez.
- More than $90,000 - Profits Kalshi says it froze in Perez's account.
- More than a dozen - Trump speeches tied to the alleged trading, according to ABC News.
Yes, but: The legal status is still preliminary: the reporting describes regulator talks and a possible investigation, not a public CFTC complaint or settlement.
What's next: Perez is reportedly in talks with federal regulators, but no public enforcement filing or settlement has been announced in the cited reporting.