CFTC Orders Gabriel Perez to Pay $172,000 for Insider Trading in Prediction Market Contracts

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an order settling charges against Gabriel Perez for misappropriating material, non-public information obtained through federal government employment to trade event contracts on a prediction market platform. According to the CFTC, between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez served as a White House teleprompter operator, granting him advance access to presidential speeches before their public delivery. In breach of his duty of trust and confidence, Perez used the non-public speech texts to trade presidential "mention market" event contracts, which derive value from specific words or phrases spoken during presidential addresses. Through these unlawful trades, Perez generated $107,539.02 in illicit profits. Under the terms of the settlement, Perez is required to disgorge the full $107,539.02 in unlawful gains and pay a civil monetary penalty of $65,000, bringing the total financial sanction to over $172,000. The CFTC stated that the penalty reflected a substantial discount under the Division of Enforcement's cooperation advisory due to Perez's exemplary cooperation throughout the investigation. In addition to the financial penalties, Perez agreed to cease and desist from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, and is subject to a three-year trading ban. The CFTC also acknowledged the assistance of prediction market exchange KalshiEX in resolving the matter.