George Santos Just Got Hit With Kalshi’s First-Ever Lifetime Ban
The former US representative was also fined more than $71,000 for allegedly attempting to manipulate the prediction market.
Former Republican congressman George Santos has received a first-of-its-kind lifetime ban from prediction market platform Kalshi, alongside a fine of $71,356 for violating rules around insider trading and market manipulation. Santos placed trades on markets related to his attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address in February 2026, then made false or misleading statements to influence the price of certain contracts.
Kalshi's enforcement team flagged his trades, froze his account, and referred the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Santos settled with the CFTC for $35,000 earlier this summer, returning the profit and adding an additional $17,500 fine. Santos' lawyer stated that he settled to "put this matter behind him" without admitting the Commission's allegations, findings, or conclusions.
Santos had a prior troubled relationship with prediction markets, having previously settled with Kalshi for $35,000 over suspicious trades and being fined $17,500. He was once paid to promote Kalshi's rival Polymarket before federal regulators investigated his behavior regarding the State of the Union. This is not Santos' first run-in with the law; he was expelled from Congress in 2023 and pleaded guilty to embezzling, lying to Congress, and defrauding campaign contributors, serving time in federal prison until his release in 2025 via President Trump's commutation.
Kalshi has issued enforcement actions against other politicians this year, including North Carolina Congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout, California gubernatorial candidate Stephen Kloobeck, and Maine gubernatorial candidate Ben Midgley. All three were temporarily suspended for attempting to trade on markets related to their races.
Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana mentioned that Santos did not respond to their inquiries and actively avoided them.
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