A White House teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, has been placed on unpaid leave following allegations that he used non-public information to place bets on presidential speeches. Perez is accused of using the prediction market platform Kalshi to wager nearly $100,000 on specific words and phrases President Donald Trump would use during addresses, such as the State of the Union.
Kalshi analysts flagged the activity in March after noticing unusual patterns in 'mention markets,' which allow users to bet on whether a speaker will use certain terms. The platform identified Perez through account data and froze more than $90,000 in profits before they could be withdrawn. Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault, stated that the firm has provided evidence of the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the President is aware of the situation and stated that Perez will no longer work at the White House. Sources indicated that federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to open a criminal case, though Perez is reportedly cooperating with the CFTC's regulatory investigation. The CFTC has declined to publicly confirm or deny the existence of a probe.