Trump Teleprompter Operator Investigated Over Alleged Insider Profits on Kalshi

Kalshi’s “Mentions” contracts let traders wager on whether specific words, phrases or topics will appear in public speeches. Gabriel Perez had operated Donald Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, giving him potential advance access to prepared remarks. Allegations that he used job-derived, nonpublic information to trade put a fresh spotlight on insider-risk controls at prediction markets and oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates Kalshi.

ABC News reported on July 16 that Perez made more than $100,000 betting on what Trump would say in major addresses, including this year’s State of the Union. The White House placed him on unpaid leave that day. Kalshi said its surveillance team flagged, investigated and referred the trades to the CFTC. On July 28, a White House official said Perez no longer worked in the federal government but did not say whether he resigned or was fired.

Kalshi is a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated designated contract market where users trade on the outcomes of elections, entertainment events and other events. As the market expands rapidly, traders with nonpublic information could distort prices and undermine trust. The platform therefore established an independent surveillance and audit committee in February 2026 and publicly disclosed enforcement actions for the first time, setting an insider-trading enforcement precedent for prediction markets.

On February 25, 2026, Kalshi found that MrBeast editor Artem Kaptur had used nonpublic information to trade and earned more than $5,000. It fined him $20,397.58 and banned him for two years. On April 22, it also penalized Mark Moran and two other candidates who bet on their own election prospects, banning each for five years and imposing fines of up to about $6,200. Starting June 10, users trading in high-risk markets must disclose their employers.