Federal probe into George Santos betting on Kalshi market

Federal authorities are investigating former U.S. Representative George Santos for allegedly profiting from bets that he would not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in February after publicly stating he would be there. The Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have opened probes into the matter, according to multiple people familiar with the investigations.

The scrutiny focuses on trading activity on the prediction market platform Kalshi. In the days leading up to the February 24 speech, millions of dollars were wagered on various attendees, including Santos. On February 23, Santos posted a video on social media stating he would be in the gallery for the address. However, he did not attend, posting during the event that he was watching it from an airport.

According to individuals with knowledge of the trades, Santos had allegedly placed bets on Kalshi predicting his own absence. His public declaration reportedly caused the market odds for his attendance to rise, while his no-show caused them to fall, allowing him to profit. People familiar with the matter say the profits were in the tens of thousands of dollars. Kalshi...