NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former Congressman George Santos agreed Friday to pay $35,000 to settle a federal investigation into his suspicious trades on the prediction marketplace Kalshi after he bet against his own plans to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union.The onetime Republican lawmaker from New York said he settled with the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission to “put this matter behind him,” noting that he did not admit to doing anything wrong.“He chose a prompt, practical resolution, rather than protracted, costly litigation, and that choice should not be mistaken for admission of any wrongdoing, because it is not one,” Santos’ lawyer Joseph Murray said in a statement Santos shared on X. The commission said Friday’s settlement represents the more than $17,000 Santos earned from the unlawful trading as well as a fine of $17,500. The agency also imposed a three-year trading ban on Santos.
Kalshi, which had reported Santos to regulators, said it will also pursue its own enforcement action and work to reimburse traders if monetary penalties are recovered.Leading up to Trump’s February speech, Santos had talked frequently about his plans to be in the crowd. But minutes into the speech, he posted on X to say that he had been waylaid at the airport and couldn’t make it to Capitol Hill.Social media users called him out, noting that Kalshi had put the odds of Santos attending the address at close to 75%.
