$65,000 fine imposed on operator of Trump's 'auto-pilot' device

The Trump administration settled an insider trading case against Gabriel Perez, a longtime employee who operated President Donald Trump’s teleprompter, on Friday, imposing a $65,000 fine for “illegal” trades he made in prediction markets regarding Trump’s speeches, according to CNN.

Perez will also be required to disgorge $107,000 in illicit profits from his trades on the Kalshi platform, as stated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency responsible for regulating prediction markets.

The commission noted that although Perez “was bound by duties of trust and confidentiality to the U.S. government” and “breached those duties,” he received a “significant reduction” in the penalty due to his “exemplary cooperation” during the investigation.

This case marks the first known instance of a White House employee allegedly involved in an insider trading scheme in prediction markets, which have seen a massive surge in popularity this year.

As the long-time operator of Trump’s teleprompter, Perez traveled with and worked alongside the president for a decade. He was among the few aides trusted with the president’s speech texts and was often the last person to review Trump’s speeches before they were delivered.