A White House teleprompter operator is under investigation for allegedly using inside information to place bets and make nearly $100,000 on appearances by US President Donald Trump.
Gabriel Perez, who has worked in the White House since 2016, is accused of betting on the words the president would use during major public appearances, including the State of the Union speech.
The trades were conducted on Kalshi, a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real events. The firm confirmed that it reported the activity to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates the platform.
Kalshi reportedly froze Perez’s account before any profits could be withdrawn.
The platform told the BBC that its analysts noticed unusual bets in March on “mention markets” – contracts in which users predict whether a speaker will use general terms such as specific countries, economic words or election slogans.
“The words of political leaders such as presidents and Fed chairmen cause billions of dollars of movement in the foreign exchange markets, oil futures, (and) the stock market,” Kalshi said.
Using the account information, the company discovered that the user was a federal employee who managed the White House teleprompters.
The exchange froze more than $90,000 before it could be withdrawn.
Robert Deno, Kalshi’s chief enforcement officer, said the firm recorded the transactions and provided evidence to regulators.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said President Trump was aware of the teleprompter operator and that the employee is now on unpaid leave, before adding that Perez would no longer work at the White House.
The story, first reported by ABC News, was confirmed by the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Sources said Perez was “fully cooperating” with the CFTC.
ABC reported that federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to pursue criminal charges.
When contacted by the BBC to confirm the investigation, the CFTC said it could not “confirm or deny” any investigation.