A former U.S. congressman reached a $35,000 settlement with the CFTC over prediction of market manipulation.

Former U.S. Congressman George Santos has reached a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC alleges that Santos manipulated trading on Kalshi Futures contracts related to his attendance at the February 2026 State of the Union address, profiting over $17,500. According to a CFTC announcement on Friday, Santos will pay $35,000 as part of the settlement, but neither admitted nor denied the regulator's findings. The CFTC stated that in the two weeks leading up to the State of the Union address, Santos repeatedly commented publicly on his attendance, causing significant price fluctuations in the contract. For example, while holding a "Yes" position ("will attend"), he posted on the X platform asking what he should wear to the address. Within hours, the price of the "Yes" position rose, and Santos subsequently closed his position for a profit. The CFTC also stated that Santos subsequently continued to publish information about his travel to Washington, D.C., including his flight and train journeys, and profited by trading back and forth based on market reactions to his public statements. The CFTC stated that Santos's actions were intentional, or at least reckless. He was trading an event contract in which he could influence the underlying outcome and profited from his positions by manipulating contract prices through misleading public statements or omissions in information. Santos's lawyer, Joseph W. Murray, stated in a statement on Friday that the State of the Union contract was Santos's first foray into prediction market betting.