Federal regulators are investigating a White House teleprompter operator for placing bets on prediction markets tied to President Donald Trump’s speeches, reportedly resulting in more than $100,000 in profits. Gabriel Perez, the employee in question, is currently in discussions to settle civil claims brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to a source familiar with the matter.

The White House confirmed that Perez has been placed on unpaid administrative leave following the revelation. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt relayed Trump's reaction, noting that the president considers the situation “deeply unfortunate” and “frankly a disgrace.”

Perez’s trades occurred on Kalshi, a prediction market platform that allows users to wager on various future events, including political speeches. Among the notable wagers were those placed on Trump’s State of the Union address in February. Kalshi’s internal compliance team began scrutinizing Perez’s activity earlier this year. Their investigation led to freezing Perez’s account and holding over $90,000 in winnings pending further review. Ultimately, Kalshi referred its findings to the CFTC for regulatory action.

Robert DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement, stated that the platform’s surveillance promptly identified the trades and cooperated fully with federal regulators by providing evidence gathered during its internal inquiry.

A White House spokesperson, Davis Ingle, confirmed Perez is cooperating with the CFTC investigation. The issue first came to public attention following a report by a news outlet earlier this month.

This incident follows warnings previously issued by the White House Management Office to all staff against leveraging nonpublic government information for personal financial gain, particularly through prediction markets like Kalshi. Although federal employees are already prohibited from gambling on government premises, the March memo explicitly highlighted that using inside information for profit violates ethics rules.

Ingle reiterated that the administration under Trump has made it clear to government workers that exploiting their roles to benefit financially is not permissible. “All federal employees are subject to government ethics guidelines that prohibit the use of nonpublic information for financial benefit,” he said in April.

Regulators have increasingly focused on prediction markets amid concerns about insider trading and misuse of confidential information, intensifying scrutiny on such platforms as part of broader efforts to uphold market integrity.