Kalshi bans George Santos for $17,839 market manipulation

Kalshi has permanently banned former U.S. Representative George Santos and imposed a $71,356 penalty after finding that he manipulated an attendance market to earn $17,839.57. Summary Kalshi permanently suspended Santos from accessing its exchange either directly or indirectly. Santos earned $17,839.57 from contracts tied to his State of the Union attendance. Public statements by Santos moved contract prices in favor of his positions, Kalshi found. A separate CFTC order imposed a three-year trading ban and over $35,000 in payments. Kalshi’s Aug. 28 disciplinary notice said Santos placed large trades between Feb. 2 and Feb. 25 in contracts that paid according to whether he attended President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address. Kalshi says Santos traded an outcome he could control As the person whose attendance determined the contracts’ result, Santos had direct influence over the event. Kalshi Rule 5.17(z) prohibits members from trading contracts when they can affect the underlying outcome. Despite the restriction, Santos bought and sold contracts tied solely to his own attendance, the compliance department found. His trades involved both “Yes” contracts, which would pay...