A teleprompter operator for former President Donald Trump has been fined for engaging in insider trading, according to a federal agency’s announcement. Gabriel Perez is required to pay $172,000 for using nonpublic information from presidential speeches to make prediction trades.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disclosed that Perez utilized “material, nonpublic information” obtained in his role to trade on a prediction market. As a result, he has been ordered to repay $107,539.02 in profits and a civil penalty of $65,000. Additionally, Perez faces a three-year ban from trading in prediction markets.
Perez conducted his trades through the platform Kalshi. The CFTC acknowledged Kalshi’s assistance in addressing the situation. Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s lead attorney, commented on the enforcement action, emphasizing that rules violations are taken seriously, regardless of the violator’s position.
The White House has yet to comment on the situation. Efforts to reach Perez for a statement were unsuccessful. Describing the situation as insider trading, the CFTC indicated that Perez traded in “presidential mention market contracts,” which are event-based contracts tied to specific words or phrases potentially used by the President.
From 2016, Perez worked as a technical assistant and teleprompter operator for President Trump. The CFTC highlighted Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” during the proceedings as a factor in determining the penalties.
In July, then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned the actions as a severe ethical violation, calling it a disgrace. Perez was placed on leave, with Leavitt affirming that his employment was terminated.
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