George Santos settles CFTC case over Kalshi trading

George Santos settled with the CFTC, paying $35,000 for manipulative trading on Kalshi and is barred from prediction markets for three years.

George Santos has settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations of manipulative trading on the Kalshi prediction market platform. The CFTC accused Santos of betting on whether he would attend the State of the Union address, then making public statements and social media posts that influenced the market’s outcome. This allowed him to profit by over $17,500. As part of the settlement, Santos must pay more than $35,000, covering disgorged profits and a civil penalty. He is also barred from participating in prediction market trading for three years. Kalshi detected the suspicious activity, froze his account, and reported the incident to regulators. This case highlights increased regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets and demonstrates the CFTC’s commitment to maintaining market integrity. Santos settled without admitting or denying the CFTC’s findings.