Former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez was ordered to pay more than $172,000 for using inside information to bet on Donald Trump's speeches on the Kalshi prediction market. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Perez had misappropriated his prior knowledge of Trump's speeches to place bets between December 2025 and February 2026, violating his duty of trust and confidence. He must surrender $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty, which the agency reduced after noting his cooperation with the investigation. Perez was also barred from trading for three years. Kalshi detected unusual betting activity on its mention markets in March and identified the user as a federal employee operating White House teleprompters before reporting the activity to the regulator. The company's lead lawyer, Bobby DeNault, said on X that violations of the platform’s rules or federal law would be met with consequences regardless of the individual’s identity. Kalshi noted in July that statements by political leaders such as presidents and Federal Reserve chairs can cause billions of dollars of movement in foreign‑exchange markets, oil futures and the stock market. The White House Management Office sent a letter to staff in the same month advising against placing bets on prediction markets, according to CBS News. The case underscores the CFTC’s enforcement of insider‑trading rules in the prediction‑market sector and the administration’s guidance to staff on participation in such markets.