Between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez operated teleprompters for the administration, granting him knowledge of speech content before it reached the public. He exploited this position to trade "mention market" contracts, which pay out based on whether specific words are spoken during live events. The CFTC determined that his conduct violated the Commodity Exchange Act and breached his professional duty of trust.
In section Cryptocurrency
Ex-White House aide fined $172K for betting on presidential speeches
Gabriel Perez, a former teleprompter operator for the White House, has agreed to a $172,539 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Regulators found that Perez leveraged his advance access to Donald Trump’s speeches to profit from event contracts that tracked specific phrases used during presidential addresses.
Under the terms of the settlement, Perez must disgorge $107,539 in illicit profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. While the fine is significant, the regulator granted a reduction in the penalty amount due to his "exemplary cooperation" during the investigation. As part of the agreement, he is barred from trading in CFTC-regulated markets for three years. KalshiEX, the platform where the trades occurred, provided assistance to investigators throughout the probe. Perez is no longer employed by the federal government, having been placed on leave following the initial discovery of his trading activity.
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