The prediction platform Kalshi has permanently banned former Congressman George Santos for manipulation. He earned about $18,000 betting on his own attendance at Trump's address to the nation—first placing large bets and then publicly influencing contract prices through false statements and other means. In the end, he didn't show up for the speech, precisely the outcome he had bet on.
In addition to the ban, Santos was fined over $70,000, and federal authorities have also become interested in his case. This is one of five new cases of violations on the platform; the other individuals involved received temporary bans for cooperating with investigators.
A similar situation occurred with former White House staffer Gabriel Perez, who was fined $170,000 and banned from trading for three years for betting on words that Trump would say in his speeches.