The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has fined Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, $172,000 over bets on President Trump’s speeches.

 

In a press release, the CFTC said Perez traded presidential market contracts during his time as a White House teleprompter operator. These contracts are event contracts that reflect words or phrases that the president may use during his speeches.

 

Due to his position at the White House, Perez had direct access to presidential speeches before they were delivered, allowing him to make more than $107,000 in profits between December 2025 and February 2026.

 

According to the CFTC, Perez’s actions constituted a breach of his duty of trust and confidence, leading the agency to impose a civil monetary penalty of $65,000 and order him to disgorge the $107,539.02 in profits he made from the unlawful trading.

 

A three year trading ban was also imposed on him, with the agency stating that Perez agreed to a cease and desist order resolving the violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.

 

Earlier White House Suspension

 

Gabriel Perez was a longtime White House teleprompter operator who had worked with President Trump as far back as 2016, during Trump’s first presidential campaign.

 

However, in March of this year, Kalshi’s surveillance systems flagged unusual trading patterns that did not involve the typical buying and selling behavior of most traders.

 

Upon investigation, Kalshi discovered that the account was owned by a federal White House teleprompter operator, prompting the prediction market to lock the account, which had generated more than $90,000 in profits, and refer the matter to the CFTC along with the evidence it had uncovered.

 

Following the allegations, Perez was placed on unpaid administrative leaaave by the White House. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the allegations were “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.”

 

By late July, the White House released a statement saying that Gabriel Perez was no longer working for the federal government.