Former Trump White House teleprompter staffer Gabriel Perez must pay over $172,000 and accept a three-year trading ban after a federal investigation found he used advance access to presidential speeches to make illicit prediction-market trades, a breach that the White House called “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.”

Gabriel Perez, who began serving as President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator in 2016, has reached a sweeping settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after investigators uncovered that he placed bets on so-called “presidential mention market contracts” over a two-month period from December 2025 to February 2026. According to the CFTC, Perez exploited his privileged position by trading on confidential information, specifically, knowledge of the words or phrases the president intended to use in upcoming speeches.

The CFTC order, as reported by the Washington Examiner, states that Perez’s activities netted him more than $107,500 in profits. In his role, the order found, Perez “had access to presidential speeches prior to those speeches being delivered and Perez misappropriated that information, in breach of his duty of trust and confidence, to trade presidential mention market contracts.” The settlement requires Perez to pay back the full amount of his illicit gains, pay an additional $65,000 civil penalty, and refrain from trading on prediction markets for three years.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking to the media in July, said President Trump viewed the situation as “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.” The White House moved quickly to distance itself from Perez, placing him on unpaid administrative leave and removing him from his teleprompter duties. The breach was regarded as a violation of internal ethics rules and a serious lapse in information security, a point echoed by multiple outlets as the story broke.

Additional reporting from Fox News adds that Perez was identified as the longtime operator responsible for Trump’s speeches since 2016. Sources told Fox News that the staffer was placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation unfolded and that a new operator was assigned to handle the president’s remarks. The White House, Fox News reported, scrambled to respond after being briefed on the allegations, with a spokesperson stating the staffer was fully cooperating with the CFTC.

Perez’s privileged access turned into a profit engine

The heart of the case was Perez’s misuse of advance, nonpublic knowledge about the president’s remarks. The CFTC found that he bet on specific words or topics likely to appear in Trump’s addresses, wagers that paid off because of his insider vantage point. The Just The News report highlights that Perez’s activities represented a clear breach of trust and information security. “In his position, Perez had access to presidential speeches prior to those speeches being delivered and Perez misappropriated that information, in breach of his duty of trust and confidence,” the CFTC stated. The agency noted that Perez’s fine was reduced in recognition of what it called his “exemplary cooperation.”

This episode fits a growing pattern of information leaks and ethics lapses tied to the modern prediction-market economy. As seen in the removal of Perez from the White House following the Kalshi betting scandal, the risk of staffers using privileged government access for personal gain is hardly theoretical. In this case, the CFTC’s action sends a clear signal: using inside knowledge to profit from government work will have consequences.

White House acts swiftly but faces scrutiny over internal controls

When the first allegations surfaced, the administration responded by placing Perez on unpaid leave and assigning another teleprompter operator to Trump’s speeches, according to the New York Post. The platform Kalshi reportedly flagged the suspicious trades and froze more than $90,000 in Perez’s account before he could withdraw the funds. The White House also made clear that Perez would no longer work there, a decision that came directly from President Trump, as Breitbart reported.

Kalshi’s enforcement team took an active role in alerting federal authorities, with enforcement chief Robert DeNault stating, “Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation.” This quick reporting enabled the government to intervene before the bulk of the alleged profits could be accessed, reinforcing the importance of vigilant oversight in these emerging markets.

While the White House’s response was decisive, the scandal has raised broader questions about internal controls and ethics enforcement. This is not the first time the Trump administration has had to confront staff changes under pressure, as seen when Karoline Leavitt left her role as press secretary and when James Braid announced his exit as legislative director. These transitions often draw new scrutiny to White House vetting, discipline, and the risks that come with privileged access to sensitive information.

Prediction-market platforms face new regulatory spotlight

The Perez case is not an isolated incident. The CFTC’s order referenced another investigation involving U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who was charged with using classified information to wager on prediction-market contracts about the capture of Venezuelan figure Nicolas Maduro. Such cases underscore the temptation for those with inside knowledge to cash in, and the need for robust federal oversight.

The rise of prediction markets and contracts that pay out based on the occurrence of specific phrases or policy topics in presidential speeches has opened a new frontier for potential abuse. As agencies and platforms like Kalshi step up surveillance and reporting, the challenge for government remains: how to keep public trust and prevent leaks that could erode confidence in government operations. The ongoing legal battles and controversies around the Trump White House, including disputes over new construction projects like the much-debated White House ballroom, only add fuel to broader debates about transparency, ethics, and the rule of law.

For Republicans determined to restore order and public trust, the message is clear: government service is a privilege, not a profit center. Those who abuse their access should expect to be caught, and to pay the price.