CFTC fines former White House staffer $172K over Kalshi insider trading

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed $172,000 in sanctions on a former White House staffer who handled publicity for President Donald Trump over insider trading allegations tied to prediction market platform Kalshi, The Block reported. The case marks the CFTC’s second insider trading enforcement action involving a government employee accused of using nonpublic information to trade event-based prediction contracts. Gabriel Perez, who served as a White House publicity and technology adviser, abused job-related access that allowed Perez to review Trump’s speech drafts about an hour before delivery, according to the report. From December 2025 to February 2026, Perez traded in Kalshi “Mention Market” contracts tied to whether specific words or phrases would appear in the speeches and generated profits. The CFTC ordered disgorgement of $107,539 in illicit gains, imposed a $65,000 civil penalty, and barred Perez from trading at CFTC-registered entities for three years.