CFTC Settles Event-Contract Trading Case With Former White House Aide

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a settled order against former White House employee Gabriel Perez for trading event contracts using nonpublic information obtained through his government work. Perez operated a presidential teleprompter, giving him advance knowledge of words likely to appear in speeches, according to the agency.

The August 28 order requires Perez to disgorge $107,539.02, pay a $65,000 civil monetary penalty and comply with a three-year trading ban. The combined amount is about $172,539. The sanctions arise from an administrative settlement, not a criminal conviction or jury verdict.

The CFTC said Perez traded contracts that paid based on whether President Donald Trump mentioned specified words or phrases during public appearances. Advance access to speech material gave him information other market participants did not have. The agency found that he misappropriated material, nonpublic information and used it for personal benefit.

Reuters independently reported the settlement and Perez's former role. A settled order typically includes findings and obligations accepted to resolve the agency's case. The precise language of the order controls whether a respondent admits or neither admits nor denies particular allegations. Coverage should not convert the civil resolution into an allegation of a different offense.

Event contracts can resemble ordinary derivatives in their trading mechanics while depending on political or cultural outcomes. That structure makes information controls important. Employers and agencies may need clear rules for staff who see speeches, schedules, data releases or policy decisions before the public. Platforms also need surveillance capable of identifying suspicious timing and concentration.

Disgorgement is designed to remove gains associated with misconduct. A civil penalty serves a punitive and deterrent function. The trading ban limits participation for the specified period but is not a lifetime exclusion. Any separate employment, ethics or criminal consequence would require its own authority and record.

The case also illustrates why prediction-market transparency must include more than public odds. Account histories, device records, access logs and time-stamped documents can reveal whether a trader acted on privileged information. A winning trade alone does not prove misconduct; the evidentiary link between access, decision and transaction is essential.

The verified development is a final CFTC order imposing stated financial remedies and a three-year ban. Perez's liability rests on that administrative record. The next public evidence may include payment compliance, related platform controls or new agency guidance. Claims that every government employee is barred from event contracts, or that the case created a general federal insider-trading statute for all prediction markets, go beyond the order.