Published on: June 2, 2026, 06:33h.
Updated on: June 2, 2026, 06:33h.
- Former Congressman George Santos has recently been released from prison by President Trump.
- The Justice Department is currently probing Santos for potential market manipulation on Kalshi.
- Santos was earlier compelled to resign from Congress and was sentenced to 87 months in prison.
The unpredictable journey of ex-Rep. George Santos takes another strange twist as the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigates allegations of insider trading linked to the prediction market Kalshi.
NPR disclosed earlier today that an anonymous source indicated Kalshi was aware of Santos’s alleged misconduct and subsequently reported the incident to the DOJ and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates prediction markets.
The core of the investigation involves Santos possibly manipulating a market regarding his attendance at the State of the Union address in February—only months after President Trump commuted Santos’s federal prison sentence. Before the address, Santos published a video on X stating he would attend, thereby influencing prices on Kalshi event contracts related to potential attendees.
Later, he shared another video from an airport, claiming he had missed the event. Reports from NPR suggest he purchased “no” contracts on Kalshi behind the scenes, potentially benefiting from his absence at the State of the Union. This behavior could be classified as insider trading.
Kalshi’s Firm Stance Against Insider Trading
Kalshi is said to have detected Santos’s suspicious activities, leading to the suspension of his account and a referral to the CFTC and DOJ.
Coincidentally, while the State of the Union was held in February, Kalshi announced in March it would implement new regulations to prevent insider trading by athletes and politicians in markets where they might influence results.
Kalshi has proactively acted against political candidates suspected of trading on undisclosed information regarding their campaigns. In April, the platform suspended accounts of three candidates—two Democrats and one Republican—due to insider trading allegations, following the fine imposed on a California Republican gubernatorial candidate caught betting on his own success in 2025.
In a typical manner, Santos stated to NPR that he couldn’t confirm or deny maintaining a Kalshi account but intended to contact co-founder Luana Lopes Lara regarding the issue. He characterized their potential connection as stemming from shared Brazilian heritage, though NPR sources noted there is no existing relationship between them.
Santos Enjoys Telling Tall Tales
Santos won election to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district in 2022 but lasted only a year before discrepancies in his background—including fabricated claims of college athletics and work on Wall Street—came to light.
Additionally, in April 2025, he was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was also ordered to pay nearly $600,000 in restitution to victims of his financial misconduct.
“George Santos dedicated his brief tenure in public service to deceiving his donors and constituents until his duplicity was revealed and he was unmasked as an opportunist and a fraud,” remarked Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly post-sentencing in April 2025.
Santos was released from incarceration in October, suggesting he may be slipping back into his old habits a mere seven months after his release.