Jul 17, 2026
Nearly four months after the White House sent out an internal email warning staff against using confidential information to make bets on prediction markets, a staffer with close contact to President Trump has been accused of doing just that.
As ABC News reports, Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator is being investigated for using Kalshi to bet on more than a dozen Trump speeches. Gabriel Perez, who’s been handling the president’s speeches since 2016, reportedly made more than $100,000 by allegedly misusing confidential information.
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According to ABC News’ sources, Kalshi recognized suspicious activity on its “Mentions” market and reported it to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Mentions market allows users to place bets on whether specific topics, phrases or words will be mentioned in a public speech.
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“Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators,” Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement, said in a statement shared with ABC News.
Trump calls the situation a ‘disgrace’
Following the ABC News report, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed Perez has been placed on unpaid administrative leave. That decision was made by Trump, who reportedly described the situation as a “disgrace.”
Leavitt also said she’s not aware of any other staffers who have made bets or trades using confidential information.
“The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers and officials to follow,” Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, told ABC News.
According to ABC News’ sources, Perez allegedly placed bets on more than 12 Trump speeches in a period of three months. Those speeches reportedly include Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24; his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January; a Medal of Honor ceremony in March; and a primetime address back in December.
Sources told ABC News that Perez often has the “final eyes” on Trump’s prepared speeches and has been known to make last-minute edits at the president’s behest. Trump, for his part, is well known for frequently deviating from his prepared remarks.
“You know, when you go up here, you take a big chance, especially me because I go off teleprompter about 80% of the time,” Trump said during a January speech at the Detroit Economic Club. That particular speech is also believed to be one that Perez allegedly placed bets on.
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Perez would also reportedly back out of certain bets mid-speech if Trump skipped over certain sections that included a word he had previously bet would be mentioned.
A source told ABC News that Perez met with regulators in recent months to discuss the suspicious betting activity and acknowledged a few of the trades. The CFTC then reportedly notified federal prosecutors in New York City, who appear to be willing to settle with Perez as opposed to opening a criminal investigation.
The terms for a settlement allegedly dictate that Perez would have to return all of his profits while refraining from making such bets ever again.
No charges have been filed against him.
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Betting with insider info is a burgeoning problem
Bettors using confidential information on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have received plenty of news coverage in 2026.
According to Bloomberg, futures for stocks and oil reportedly worth billions of dollars changed hands just 15 minutes before Trump announced a five-day pause on his threat to target Iranian power plants on Truth Social. Trump’s post made the price of crude oil plummet, while equities began to soar. That came just one day before the White House sent its internal email warning staffers against insider trading.
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And then there’s Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. soldier who was involved in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Van Dyke is accused of using his knowledge of the mission to make bets on Polymarket, where he reportedly won more than $400,000.
A Google employee was also accused of using internal data to place bets on user searches using Polymarket, where the employee reportedly won $1.2 million on the alleged bets.
Trump, who has occasionally been critical of prediction markets, said in April that he worries the U.S. could be “left out in the cold“ if it didn’t allow prediction markets to operate in America.
“Well the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world in Europe and every place they’re doing these betting things,” Trump shared with reporters. “I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it conceptually, but it is what it is.”
In October 2025, the Trump Media and Technology Group announced it will be launching its own prediction market product on Truth Social, allowing users to place bets on anything from politics to sports on the social media platform.
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Chase is an Associate Editor for Wise Publishing. He formerly worked at Yahoo Canada as an editor on both the News and Sports teams.
