File photo: Gabriel Perez adjusts the teleprompter before U.S. President Donald Trump makes remarks on his administration’s national security strategy at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2017.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay $172,539 for using advance access to President Donald Trump’s speech to illegally trade on a prediction market platform.
Under the settlement with the CFTC, Mr. Perez must repay $107,539.02 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. He also agreed to a three-year trading ban and a cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
According to the CFTC, Mr. Perez traded presidential “mentioned market” contracts with Mr. Calci from December 2025 to February 2026, while he worked in the White House. This contract is an event contract where payments are based on whether the president uses certain words or phrases in his speech.
Perez could not be reached for comment. He was placed on unpaid leave and no longer works for the federal government.
According to the CFTC, Mr. Perez gained access to Mr. Trump’s speech before it took place and used that material, nonpublic information to trade contracts for personal gain.
The agency said Perez’s $65,000 fine represents a significant reduction due to his “exemplary cooperation” with the investigation.
The CFTC also acknowledged that KalshiEX assisted in this matter.
