Former White House employee to pay $1.6 million
Prompter Gabriel Perez is having a tough time right now.
He will pay around $1.6 million.
This after using insider information to bet on the content of Trump's speeches.
A former White House employee, teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez, has been ordered to pay $172,000. This corresponds to around $1.6 million.
Perez is said to have made deals based on what US President Donald Trump would say during appearances on Kalshi, a prediction market where users can bet money on real events.
His activity is said to have lasted between December 2025 and February 2026, according to the BBC.
Will pay back
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Perez must pay back $107,539 in winnings and a $65,000 civil penalty.
The White House has not yet commented on the decision.
In July, then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Perez was on unpaid leave and would not return to his job.
When the settlement was announced on Friday, the CFTC said Perez had abused his prior knowledge of Trump's speech. He allegedly used the information to place bets on Kalshi.
Welcomes the decision
Kalshi's general counsel Bobby DeNault welcomed the decision, writing on X:
"It doesn't matter who you are: if you violate our rules or federal law, you will face the consequences."
Kalshi has previously told the BBC that the company's analysts had detected unusual trading in so-called "mention markets." There, users can bet on whether a speaker will mention a particular country, a slogan or a specific word.
The company used account information to identify the user as a federal official who worked with the White House teleprompters.
“The words of political leaders, such as presidents and central bank governors, can cause billions of dollars in movements in the currency, oil and stock markets,” Kalshi said in July.
Facts
Teleprompters
A teleprompter is a screen that displays a script in front of a person giving a speech or talking into a camera.
The text scrolls on the screen as the person speaks.
Through a special transparent glass panel, the speaker can read the text while making it appear that they are looking directly at the audience or camera.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar