Congressman Santos Barred From State of the Union; Kalshi Refers His Bets to DOJ and CFTC

Kalshi referred former Rep. George Santos to the Department of Justice after detecting suspicious trades he made ahead of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 24 State of the Union address. A person familiar with the investigation said Kalshi also reported the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Santos had repeatedly discussed his intention to attend the address, which occurred four months after Trump granted him clemency in a fraud case. On the eve of the speech, Kalshi put the odds of his attendance at close to 75 percent.

Minutes into the speech, Santos posted on X that he had been waylaid at the airport. The referral was first reported by NPR. Santos told NPR he was not aware of any investigation. In March, Santos addressed the episode on his podcast.

“I guess people lost money,” he said. ” Santos won office as a Republican after inventing a persona as a Wall Street dealmaker. He pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft in 2024 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

He served 84 days before Trump ordered his release, calling him a “rogue” who should receive credit for voting Republican. Prediction markets including Kalshi and Polymarket have drawn scrutiny as their businesses have expanded. Some lawmakers have urged the platforms to do more to guard against insider trading.

Both companies have said they are reporting suspicious trades to federal regulators. In April, a soldier involved in the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was charged with using classified information to win more than $400,000 predicting the date of his capture on Polymarket.

The same month, the Senate approved a bipartisan resolution to prevent its own members from using prediction markets.