George Santos Gets First Ever Lifetime Kalshi Ban, Former Congressman Responds

Prediction-market exchange Kalshi has permanently banned former Congressman George Santos from its platform after finding "reasonable cause to believe" he engaged in insider trading. This marks the first time Kalshi has ever imposed such a lifetime ban on a user. The company launched the investigation after Santos allegedly placed bets on markets that depended on his attendance at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on February 24.

Kalshi alleged Santos made a series of public statements, some of which were false or misleading, in an attempt to manipulate the prices of "Yes" and "No" contracts tied to his attendance. Santos placed large trades in the markets from February 2 to 25, and made a profit of $17,839.57 on the targeted markets. The company also levied a $71,356 fine against Santos.

Santos responded to the news on social media, criticizing Kalshi's lifetime ban and accusing the company of violating its own notices and deadlines. Kalshi's enforcement head, Robert DeNault, stated that the company was temporarily suspending other individuals over allegations of insider trading, but noted that Santos was the only one who did not cooperate with their investigation.

This comes after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined Santos over $35,000 in July for allegedly engaging in manipulative activity to affect the price of swap contracts based on his attendance at Trump's State of the Union address. Santos pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and identity theft, but was released after serving less than three months due to a sentence commutation by former President Trump.