A former White House teleprompter operator has reached a settlement with federal authorities over using inside information to bet on President Donald Trump's speeches. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Friday that Gabriel Perez must return more than $100,000 in profits and pay a $65,000 fine. He also received a three-year trading ban.
Perez was placed on unpaid leave from his White House job after reports emerged that he used his position to bet on what words and phrases would appear in Trump's speeches. The White House confirmed in July that Perez was no longer in his position but did not specify whether he was fired or resigned.
According to the commission, Perez made $107,500 on prediction markets by betting on words and phrases that would appear in Trump's speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.
"In his position, Perez had access to presidential speeches prior to those speeches being delivered and Perez misappropriated that information - in breach of his duty of trust and confidence," the commission said in a release.
Perez was ordered to repay his profits in full, along with the $65,000 civil penalty, which the commission said was reduced because of his "exemplary cooperation."
In July, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the incident "unfortunate" and "a disgrace."