Kalshi users betting on what President Donald Trump would say during his speeches reportedly faced stiff competition: the president’s teleprompter operator.
ABC News information that federal investigators believe Gabriel Perez, Trump’s teleprompter operator since 2016, used inside information to place bets on Kalshi, a major prediction market platform that allows users to bet on almost anything. One category that Kalshi offers is “mention” markets, in which users try to predict what an individual will say during high-profile events.
Perez is accused of betting on what Trump would say during more than a dozen events, including his State of the Union address in February, a Medal of Honor ceremony and remarks at the World Economic Forum, according to ABC News. In total, Perez reportedly made more than $100,000 from Kalshi. Trump is scheduled to give another speech Thursday night, reportedly focused on election integrity; Kalshi has several markets listed where users bet on what he will say and how long he will speak.
“Our surveillance team quickly flagged and forwarded these exchanges to the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] after an exchange investigation,” said Robert DeNault, chief of law enforcement at Kalshi, in a statement emailed to The edge. “We have charged this individual and have been assisting regulators in this matter and providing evidence that we collected, as we do in any referral.”
Kalshi did not officially respond to questions about other bettors who bet on these markets and whether they would get their money back. Zach Fulton, a spokesman for the CFTC, which oversees prediction markets, said the agency could not confirm or deny any investigation.
According ABC NewsThe CFTC and Perez have discussed how to resolve the case, including having Perez return his winnings and not engage in similar transactions in the future. Federal prosecutors refused to open a criminal investigation, ABC News information.
Last month, Kalshi implemented rules requiring users to disclose employment information before they can bet on “markets with a higher risk of manipulation or insider trading.”
