George Santos is investigated for betting market manipulation on Kalshi
George Santos, a former American congressman and son of Brazilians, is being accused of manipulating a bet on Kalshi, one of the largest prediction markets in the world.
NPR cites information from three people with direct knowledge of his operations, also stating that the platform itself filed a complaint with the CFTC (U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
Last week, a Google engineer was prosecuted by the Department of Justice for making millions on Polymarket, another prediction market, using confidential company information.
George Santos suspected of manipulating a bet on a prediction market
The bet in question was about which people would attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February of this year. Kalshi featured several names, including George Santos.
According to the complaint, the former congressman posted a video on February 23, claiming he would attend the event.
"So, to all of you who are freaking out, like 'ahh, George Santos, you can't go to the House floor.' I can't go to the House floor when it's in session. That is correct. But I can go to the floor when it's not in session. I've done some tours of the floor and stuff like that, but you forgot that I'm going to be in the gallery. I never said I was going to be on the floor, or maybe. I will be there for the State of the Union address, in the gallery, folks."
Right after stating he would be present, bets on Kalshi spiked, going from about 13% to 76%.
However, as seen in the image above, bets quickly dropped to zero the next day. On that date, February 24, Santos posted another tweet, now saying he would not be at the event.
"Watching the SOTU (State of the Union) from an airport TV wasn't part of the plan."
Three NPR sources say the former congressman profited tens of millions of dollars by betting on this operation.
Furthermore, the outlet also reports that Kalshi detected Santos' operations and referred the case to both the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Son of Brazilians, George Santos expresses surprise at the complaint
While U.S. agencies declined to comment on the case, George Santos appeared surprised to learn of the complaint. In a conversation with NPR, the son of Brazilians said this was news to him.
"I'm not saying yes, and I'm not saying no," Santos said when asked if he had an account on Kalshi.
The platform was co-founded by Luana Lopes Lara, a Brazilian woman. Santos said he knows the executive personally, but this information was contested by another source.
Finally, the article points out that many lies told by the former congressman have already been uncovered. Among the examples cited are his claims about being Jewish, that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust, and that his mother was in the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.
In addition, Santos has been charged with 13 crimes, including wire fraud, money laundering, and misappropriation of political donor funds, which is why he lost his political office.
