Ex-White House teleprompter operator fined $65,000 for betting on Trump speeches

A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to surrender more than USD 107,000 in profits and pay a USD 65,000 fine for using information about Donald Trump’s upcoming speeches to place bets on prediction market Kalshi.According to the BBC, Gabriel Perez made trades predicting words and phrases Trump would use during speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Perez earned USD 107,539.02 from the trades and has also imposed a three-year ban on him from trading in prediction markets.The CFTC said Perez had access to presidential speeches before they were delivered through his White House role and "misappropriated" the information to place bets, breaching his "duty of trust and confidence".Kalshi assisted the regulator in the investigation after identifying unusual betting activity, the commission said.Perez, who had worked as a technical assistant and teleprompter operator for Trump since 2016, was placed on unpaid leave after the betting activity came to light in July.Then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had called the conduct "deeply unfortunate" and "a disgrace", saying Perez would no longer remain in his position.The CFTC said the USD 65,000 civil penalty was reduced because of Perez’s "exemplary cooperation" with the investigation.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.