CFTC Fined Former White House Employee Over Market Trading

CFTC fined Gabriel Peretz $172 539 for trading on a prediction market with access to nonpublic Donald Trump speeches. The case covers the period from December 2025 to February 2026. For traders, this is another signal: prediction markets already carry the same risks as traditional financial venues.

According to the regulator, Peretz was a teleprompter operator at the White House. He saw speech texts about an hour before the event. He then placed bets on contracts where the outcome depended on specific words and phrases in the president’s speeches. CFTC says he received more than $107 500 in illegal gains.

There is another important detail in the case. Peretz opened a prediction market account on December 8, 2025, and on December 9 he began trading Trump-related markets. Under the CFTC order, he entered 43 contracts, 39 of which were profitable. That is about a 90.7% success rate. Pretty good for chance? No.

How did the White House teleprompter become a source of profit?

The scheme was simple. Peretz saw the prepared text before others did. Then he bet on whether the right word would be spoken during the event. The regulator called this a breach of fiduciary duty and confidentiality.

CFTC materials mention 14 “Trump mention markets”. The events included speeches in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, WEF, National Prayer Breakfast, State of the Union and Medal of Honor Ceremony. In one case, Peretz even changed his position during the event itself when Trump departed from the prepared text. That no longer looks like luck. It looks like access to inside information.

That is why the case matters beyond this one market. It shows that on prediction markets, you can make money not only from analysis, but also from early access to data. That is where the problems begin. For Ukrainian readers, the message is simple: if information arrives before everyone else, the advantage is no longer fair.

What are the market and regulators saying?

The head of the platform’s compliance division, Robert Deno, said trader status does not matter. According to him, rule violations have consequences for everyone. This is a direct signal to platform users.

“It does not matter who you are: if you violate our rules or federal law, you will face consequences.”

The penalty is also significant, though not the maximum. Peretz must return $107 539,02 in profits, pay a $65 000 civil penalty, stop further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, and comply with a three-year trading ban. CFTC separately said the fine was reduced because of “exemplary cooperation” during the investigation.

There is another context here. According to Pew Research Center, the combined monthly trading volume on two major prediction markets rose from less than $5 billion in September 2025 to about $24 billion in April 2026. In other words, the market has already become large enough for such scandals to damage trust. And this is no longer a minor story for a narrow audience.

• CFTC fined Peretz $172 539.

• His illegal profit exceeded $107 500.

• He entered 43 contracts, 39 of which were profitable.

• The prediction market account was opened on December 8, 2025.

• Trading in “Trump mention markets” began on December 9, 2025.

• He was banned from trading for 3 years.

What does this mean for investors?

For ordinary users, the conclusion is simple. If you trade on prediction markets, you need to look not only at the news, but also at the rules governing access to information. Here, people are punished not for the bet itself, but for where the data came from.

This story also explains why the platform has been tightening controls in recent months. In March, it closed access to certain political markets for politicians and athletes. In April, it blocked and fined three American politicians. In June, it added a risk-scoring system and collected employment data from users for certain markets.

In other words, the market is growing, and the rules are getting stricter. That is a normal response. Otherwise, political contracts quickly turn into a venue for those closest to the source of information.

For Ukrainian readers, there is another practical lesson here. If an asset moves on news, speed does not always mean an advantage. Sometimes it only masks unequal access to data. Those who want to quickly sell USDT TRC20 on Monobank can do so without unnecessary steps if they need to lock in results after market news.

Frequently asked questions

Why did CFTC fine Gabriel Peretz?

For trading on a prediction market using nonpublic texts of Donald Trump’s speeches. The regulator cited a breach of fiduciary duty and confidentiality. The total penalty was $172 539.

How much did he earn from these bets?

CFTC says the illegal profit exceeded $107 500. Under the regulator’s order, the disgorgement amount is $107 539,02. Separately, he must also pay another $65 000 in fines.

What changed for the platform after this case?

The platform has already tightened oversight of political markets. It restricted access for certain categories of users, launched risk assessment, and added a whistleblower reporting mechanism. For the market, this means less room for schemes involving early access to information.

This case is not about one fine. It is about the line between a fair bet and an informational advantage. Those who want to act on market news can quickly sell USDT TRC20 on Monobank without unnecessary complications.

This material is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks. Part of this text was prepared with the help of artificial intelligence based on public sources and reviewed by our editorial team.