Santos was elected to New York’s 3rd district in 2022, sentenced in 2025 to 87 months for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, ordered to pay restitution, and released from prison in 2025.

CNN notes a data partnership with Kalshi for coverage, but CNN staff are prohibited from trading on prediction sites, clarifying media ethics.

A prediction market platform, Kalshi, referred George Santos to federal prosecutors after detecting suspicious trades ahead of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, raising questions about use of potentially nonpublic information.

The investigation centers on whether Santos traded using privileged information or other improper means on Kalshi, a site known for binary event bets.

Authorities have not disclosed specific charges or individuals beyond Santos being the subject of the inquiry, and no formal charges are stated in the available material.

CNN uses Kalshi data for major-event coverage while maintaining a prohibition on staff trading on such platforms.

The Justice Department and the CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Santos did not respond to inquiries.

Prediction markets like Kalshi have grown in popularity and are increasingly regulated, though observers say regulatory rules have not fully kept pace with industry growth.

Kalshi froze Santos’s account and referred the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with the CFTC also examining the case.

CNN reports NPR first disclosed the probe, noting that the Justice Department is involved; Santos has said he was unaware of any insider-trading investigations.

Santos has not publicly commented on the insider-trading probe to NPR, and CNN has not received a response from him.

Context around Kalshi as a platform and general insider-trading concerns are mentioned, with broader implications yet to be clarified in the full article.