Gabriel Perez has stood behind the scenes every time US President Donald Trump takes the podium - scrolling the teleprompter scripts since the 2016 campaign. That privileged access to the president’s unspoken words has now landed him in a federal investigation: Perez allegedly turned speech drafts into a money-making machine on prediction markets, pocketing more than $90,000.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating whether Perez used non-public information while trading on Kalshi, a regulated prediction market platform. The allegation is straightforward yet damning: he knew what Trump would say before the public heard it, and placed bets based on that inside knowledge.
A Near-Perfect ‘Word’ Gamble
Kalshi hosts a market called ‘Mentions’ - where users bet on whether Trump will say a specific word or discuss certain topics during his public speeches. For most traders, it is pure guesswork. For the person holding the script, it was practically free money.
Over a span of about three months, Perez allegedly bet on contracts tied to more than a dozen presidential speeches - ranging from a prime-time address in December, remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, a Medal of Honor ceremony in March, to the State of the Union. The most damning detail comes from ABC News sources: Perez would sometimes exit his betting positions mid-speech, right when Trump skipped the section of the script containing his chosen words. It was a strong indicator that he was reading the draft text before the words were ever spoken aloud.
Reports on the exact profit figures vary slightly - one source cited over $90,000, while a cited ABC News report indicated the sum exceeded $100,000, a figure that could climb as the probe continues. His scheme was halted not by law enforcement, but by Kalshi itself: the platform’s internal surveillance systems detected irregular patterns, froze most of Perez’s profits, and reported him to the CFTC.
White House Calls It “A Disgrace”
The White House immediately placed Perez on leave while cooperating with the CFTC investigation. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the case during a press briefing, noting that Trump was aware of the matter and calling the incident “unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.” Another teleprompter operator took over Perez’s duties for Trump’s scheduled address that evening.
Interestingly, federal prosecutors declined to open a criminal investigation into the betting activity. The focus remains with the CFTC: determining whether an individual used non-public information to trade on a regulated prediction market - a question where the legal boundaries are still being tested.
Not the First Incident, and Likely Not the Last
The Perez case adds to a growing list of alleged insider trading incidents across prediction markets. In March, six Polymarket traders pocketed roughly $1 million by accurately predicting that the US would strike Iran before the end of February - multiple wallets placed bets just hours before the initial explosions were reported in Tehran. Another trader netted $1.2 million betting on an onchain investigation into the DeFi platform Axiom right before the allegations went public, while another made about $400,000 predicting the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before the news broke. In April, the Department of Justice went so far as to indict a US service member for using classified materials to trade Polymarket contracts.
This recurring pattern has triggered heightened scrutiny on prediction markets amid surging trading volumes. Republican Representative Bryan Steil, chairman of the digital assets subcommittee, introduced a bill last month to ban members of Congress and their immediate families from trading prediction contracts linked to public policy. The underlying message is clear: when betting intersects with privileged access, the line between speculation and cheating becomes razor-thin - and regulators are only just beginning to draw it.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
