The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on August 1, 2026, that former congressman George Santos has been fined $35,000 for attempting to place bets on his own attendance at the State of the Union address in February. He has also been banned from the prediction-market platform Kalshi for three years.
According to the CFTC, while buying and selling positions in this market, Santos made posts on social media regarding his plans to attend or not attend the State of the Union, which included material misrepresentations. Following these posts, the contract prices moved favorably for Santos, allowing him to profit over $17,500.
A day before the State of the Union, Santos stated in a video posted on X that he would attend the event but ultimately did not show up. Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 after being charged with multiple offenses, including identity theft and misuse of campaign funds, and was sentenced to 87 months in prison, although his sentence was commuted by Donald Trump after 84 days.
Santos' lawyer, Joseph Murray, stated that Santos had no intent to deceive or manipulate the market when placing bets on Kalshi. Murray added that Santos intends to move past this matter. However, Santos has recently made multiple posts on X criticizing Kalshi, calling it a predatory platform and expressing intentions to have it legislated out of existence.