Trump Teleprompter Operator Investigated for Betting on President’s Speeches, Earns $90,000

Gabriel Perez, the longtime teleprompter operator for former U.S. President Donald Trump, is under federal investigation for allegedly placing bets on Trump's public statements via the Kalshi prediction market platform. Regulators from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are probing Perez after Kalshi flagged suspicious trading activity linked to his account, which reportedly earned over $90,000. Most of these funds have been frozen by Kalshi pending the investigation.

Kalshi's surveillance team detected unusual trading patterns related to contracts based on Trump's speeches, which did not align with typical buying and selling behaviors. The company promptly reported these transactions to the CFTC and provided evidence to assist the inquiry. Kalshi's monitoring also revealed that the account holder worked for the federal government as a teleprompter operator, corroborated by Perez's LinkedIn profile identifying him as an employee of VIP Prompting, a firm known for operating White House teleprompters since the 1960s.

Kalshi allows users to bet on a wide range of events beyond sports, including political developments and corporate earnings. This is not the first time the platform has taken action against political figures; in April, Kalshi froze accounts and fined three U.S. congressional candidates for using inside political information. The CFTC has also recently launched an investigation into another prediction market, Polymarket.

Robert DeNo, Kalshi's head of enforcement, confirmed the company's cooperation with regulators and emphasized their commitment to monitoring and reporting suspicious activity. The investigation highlights growing regulatory scrutiny over the use of prediction markets for political event betting and potential insider advantages.

Summary: Gabriel Perez, Donald Trump's teleprompter operator, is being investigated by U.S. regulators for allegedly betting over $90,000 on Trump's speeches via Kalshi, with most funds frozen. Kalshi reported suspicious activity to the CFTC, which is probing potential insider trading on political events.

Points: - Gabriel Perez, Trump's teleprompter operator, is under federal investigation for betting on Trump's speeches. - Perez allegedly earned over $90,000 from bets placed on the Kalshi platform. - Kalshi detected suspicious trading patterns and froze most of Perez's funds. - The CFTC is conducting the investigation with evidence provided by Kalshi. - Perez works for VIP Prompting, a company operating White House teleprompters since the 1960s. - Kalshi previously froze accounts of U.S. congressional candidates for insider political betting.

Topic: security

Entities: {"people": ["Gabriel Perez", "Donald Trump", "Robert DeNo"], "organizations": ["Kalshi", "Commodity Futures Trading Commission", "VIP Prompting", "Polymarket"], "places": ["United States", "White House"]}