George Santos to pay $35,000 to settle federal investigation into suspicious trades regarding his own attendance at State of the Union
George Santos agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a federal investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission into his trades on the Kalshi prediction marketplace. The former Republican congressman traded on whether he would attend the State of the Union address, ultimately making over $17,500 from the contracts. The administration announced that President Trump commuted Santos's sentence last fall after he was sentenced for wire fraud and identity theft. To resolve the matter, Santos will pay a civil monetary penalty of $17,500 and return the $17,569.98 he earned from the trades. The agency also imposed a buyer-friendly three-year trading ban on Santos. While Santos settled without admitting any wrongdoing, his lawyer, Joseph Murray, stated that Santos had a genuine intention to attend the address until a winter storm scuttled his plans. The settlement avoids protracted litigation for the former lawmaker, who rose to fame in New York and was eventually expelled from Congress.