Trump’s teleprompter operator under federal investigation over alleged $90K Kalshi insider trading bet

U.S. President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez is under investigation by federal regulators for alleged insider trading on prediction market platform Kalshi, and the White House has placed him on unpaid leave, Reuters reported.The investigation focused on transactions allegedly conducted on Kalshey’s “mention market,” in which users bet on whether specific words or phrases would be used in public speaking. Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that Kalshi discovered the suspicious activity through its customer onboarding and market monitoring systems before referring the case to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).Kalsi also froze Perez’s account before withdrawing more than $90,000 in profits, Reuters reported. Reports say Perez is cooperating with the CFTC’s investigation.Press secretary Carolyn Leavitt confirmed the action taken by the White House, telling reporters that “the president is aware of the situation with the teleprompter operator, who is now on unpaid leave.” She later added that Perez “will no longer work at the White House.”Asked whether other White House staffers had access to Kalshi or Polymarket through government equipment, Levitt said she did not know, adding that to her knowledge, no other White House or government staffers were suspected of using privileged information to place bets.Kalshi said regulators were immediately alerted following an internal investigation.“Following the exchange’s investigation, our monitoring team immediately flagged these trades and referred them to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). We have been assisting regulators with this matter and providing the evidence we have gathered, as we would in any referral,” Robert Denault, Kalshey’s director of enforcement, told Reuters.Kalsi’s internal review included an interview with Perez, while market makers also reported several mentions of potential irregularities in market transactions through whistleblower channels, Reuters reported.The platform’s Mention Market allows users to bet on whether specific words or phrases will be spoken during events such as presidential speeches, corporate earnings calls and television broadcasts. Such contracts have come under scrutiny from regulators over concerns they could be vulnerable to insider trading by people with advance knowledge of prepared remarks.Kalshi announced in June that it would require users trading sensitive contracts to disclose employment information and launch a reporting portal to strengthen market integrity.Prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket face increasing regulatory scrutiny due to concerns about market manipulation and insider trading. Earlier this year, a U.S. Army soldier was charged over a bet on Polymarket related to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Reuters reported, while former congressman Jorge Santos is also under federal investigation for alleged insider trading against Kalshey.