Ex-Federal Worker Settles CFTC Insider Trading Charges Over "Trump Mention" Contracts

A former federal employee settled CFTC charges of misappropriating confidential information about presidential speeches to inform trades on a prediction market.

According to the order, between December 2025 and March 2026, the individual worked as a teleprompter operator for the White House and had access to presidential speeches before they were delivered. The CFTC found that the individual used this advance knowledge to trade presidential "mention market" contracts - swaps that pay out based on whether a specific word or phrase is used during a speech.

The CFTC found that the individual read the prepared remarks and placed trades based on the words he saw, buying "Yes" contracts when a targeted word was included and "No" contracts when it was absent. On one occasion, the CFTC said, the individual changed his trading position after observing the President deviate from the prepared remarks. In total, the CFTC found the individual traded profitably in 39 of 43 contracts across 14 mention markets, generating $107,539.02 in illicit profits.

The individual consented to findings that he violated CEA Sections 4c(a)(3) and 4c(a)(4)(C), which bar federal employees from trading on non-public government information and bar anyone from misappropriating it. He also consented to findings that he violated CEA Section 6(c)(1) and CFTC Rule 180.1(a)(1) and (3), the antifraud and anti-manipulation provisions.

The individual agreed to a cease-and-desist order, a three-year trading ban, disgorgement of $107,539.02, and a $65,000 civil monetary penalty. The CFTC noted the penalty reflected a substantial discount for the individual's exemplary cooperation.