April 25, 2025: George Santos, expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives, arrives at the Central Islip Federal Courthouse in Central Islip, New York, USA, to be sentenced on corruption charges.
Shannon Stapleton Reuter
Prediction market platform Carsi announced Monday that it has permanently banned and fined former Republican Rep. George Santos $71,356 for allegedly using a trading app while attending this year’s State of the Union address in person.
In the weeks leading up to President Donald Trump’s speech in February, Santos, who represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District from January 2023 until his ouster from Congress later that year, is said to have made more than $17,000 betting on whether he would attend the speech.
In the weeks leading up to the event, Santos “began making a series of public statements regarding his attendance at the event, some of which included false or misleading statements, in an attempt to influence the price of each yes and no contract,” according to Carsi’s disciplinary announcement released Monday. Carsi said these actions violated the company’s rules regarding trading in non-public information.
In an X post a few days before President Trump’s speech, Santos said: “I’m going to the gallery for the State of the Union. On the day of the State of the Union, Santos posted that he was watching from the airport.
Santos fired back at Calci in a post to X on Monday.
“Hey @Kalshi, thank you for your lifetime ban from gambling platforms. Let’s see how long you guys can last,” the former lawmaker wrote, ending the post with a “hickey” emoji.
Carsi’s disciplinary action is not the first time Santos has been criticized for the incident.
In July, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Santos to pay $35,000 for trades made at the State of the Union after Mr. Carsi discovered his trades and referred them to federal investigators. Federal regulators also banned Santos from trading for three years. At the time, Santos shared a statement from his attorney that the case was settled without acknowledging any of the CFTC’s findings.
In June, amid a federal investigation, rival prediction market platform Polymarket ended its paid relationship with Santos, who worked as an online influencer for the company.
Even before Santos was appointed in 2023, questions about his career began to emerge. His stay in Congress was interrupted after a House Ethics Committee investigation found “substantial evidence of wrongdoing.” He became the first member of Congress to be expelled in more than 20 years.
Santos was also sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and grand identity theft, but President Donald Trump commuted his sentence last fall.
Disclosure: CNBC and Kalsi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and minority ownership.
