Once a fraudster, always a fraudster.
George Santos is under investigation for placing bets that he would not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, and then not attending.
Ahead of the State of the Union in February, the disgraced ex–Long Island representative posted a video announcing his intention to appear at the Capitol. His post sent the odds of his appearance soaring on the prediction market site Kalshi, which may be better known for sports betting. Then he skipped the event.
“Watching SOTU from an airport tv was not part of the plan! FML,” Santos wrote on X.
But Santos had already placed bets that he would not appear on Kalshi, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told NPR Tuesday. They alleged that Santos misled the public, and then earned tens of thousands of dollars through insider trading.
Kalshi referred the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice, which have both opened cases into Santos, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
When contacted by NPR, Santos responded: “Well, that’s news to me.”
In a post on X Tuesday, the former politico appeared to dismiss the reporting. “I hate to disappoint but I don’t engage with rag reporting anymore.… Business as usual on my end haters! ” Santos wrote.
The rise of prediction market sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket have invited a wave of apparent insider trading in politics. Among campaign staffers, betting on the success or failure of political candidates has become commonplace. In late April, Kalshi banned and fined several political candidates after a company probe found they had bet on themselves.
Earlier this year, federal prosecutors charged an active-duty Army soldier involved in the planning and capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro for allegedly using confidential intel to win $400,000 on Polymarket predictions related to the raid.