Prediction market Kalshi has referred former U.S. Representative George Santos to federal authorities over suspected insider trading, after detecting bets he placed against his own appearance at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address — even as Santos told the public he intended to be there, according to abc news.
After spotting the suspicious activity, Kalshi passed the matter along to both the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, The New York Times reported. Regulators at the CFTC's enforcement division are now examining whether Santos pocketed tens of thousands of dollars through a scheme that involved misleading bettors and manipulating the odds, according to abc news.
Santos used X $TWTR on Feb. 23 to declare he would be in the gallery for the speech, The New York Times reported. Hours later, as the Feb. 24 address got underway, a follow-up post claimed he was stuck watching from an airport television, according to CBS News. Heading into the event, Kalshi had set the probability of Santos attending at nearly 75%, CBS News reported.