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George Santos, the former New York congressman, has agreed to pay $35,000 to resolve a federal investigation into questionable trades he made on the prediction marketplace Kalshi, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Friday. The settlement stems from Santos betting against his own stated intention to attend President Donald Trump’s February State of the Union address, then failing to show up at the last minute.
The $35,000 payment comprises two components: approximately $17,000 in profits Santos earned through the unlawful trades and a $17,500 penalty imposed by regulators. The commission also barred Santos from trading for three years as part of the enforcement action. Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, emphasized that accepting the settlement should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing and characterized the resolution as a pragmatic decision to avoid lengthy litigation.
Santos had publicly discussed his plans to attend the State of the Union in the weeks leading up to the event. However, minutes after Trump began his address, Santos posted on social media claiming an airport delay prevented his attendance. Kalshi, which had set odds at approximately 75 percent that Santos would attend, reported the suspicious trading activity to federal authorities.
Santos maintained in a March podcast appearance that he harbored no deceptive intent, noting only that prediction markets are inherently volatile. His attorney reiterated Friday that Santos had genuinely booked travel arrangements and intended to be present before a winter storm changed his plans, and that he concealed neither his initial intention nor his subsequent decision to remain absent.
The former lawmaker, who previously pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges related to campaign financing, recently received clemency from Trump. He is slated to appear on Fox’s reality competition series “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” this fall.
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