On August 28, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it issued an order that filed and simultaneously settled insider trading charges against Gabriel Perez, a federal employee who served as a teleprompter operator for the White House. The CFTC accused Perez of misappropriating material nonpublic information (“MNPI”) obtained through his employment and using it to personally trade event contracts on a prediction market platform. Between December 2025 and February 2026, Perez allegedly used his advance access to presidential speeches to trade “mention market” contracts—event contracts reflecting words or phrases President Trump would use during his speeches—to generate over $107,500 in illegal profits. Under the terms of settlement, Perez was ordered to disgorge $107,539.02 in trading profits and pay a civil monetary penalty of $65,000, reflecting an approximate 40-percent reduction in the penalty. According to the CFTC, the reduction, which exceeds the standard 25-percent maximum, was granted for Perez’s extraordinary cooperation with the CFTC that included his voluntary submission to an interview and full acceptance of responsibility. Perez also agreed to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations and is subject to a three-year trading ban.
According to the CFTC’s Order, the Commission found that Perez, in his role as a Technical Advisor to President Trump, was physically present at all speeches on which he traded and routinely had access to the prepared remarks approximately an hour before their delivery. He allegedly traded in 14 Trump mention markets and profited from 39 of 43 contracts. The Commission determined that, as a federal employee, Perez breached a duty of trust and confidence owed to the U.S. government when he misappropriated confidential government information, in violation of Sections 4c(a)(3), 4c(a)(4)(C), and 6(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulation 180.1.