New reports say former Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York, is under investigation for alleged hijinks on prediction markets.
According to CNN, which cited sources it did not name, the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are taking a look at activity by Santos on the prediction site Kalshi in the context of whether he would appear at the State of the Union address this year.
As recounted by NPR, the saga began in February, when Santos wrote on X one day before the address that he would be attending the speech by President Donald Trump.
At the time, NPR noted, millions of dollars’ worth of bets were being made over who would attend.
The odds of Santos attending soared after his post, but he never showed up.
Even as Trump was speaking, Santos posted that he would not be attending, sending odds of him attending heading way down.
Sources told NPR that while the public was wondering what was going on, Santos had placed bets on Kalshi that he would not attend. The end result of the deception was a profit of what NPR said was tens of thousands of dollars.
Kalshi froze Santos’ account and sent the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice, which are investigating, sources told NPR.
“Well, that’s news to me,” Santos told NPR when asked about the investigation.
Santos said, “I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no” when asked if he had a Kalshi account.
Santos called Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara “a fellow Brazilian” with whom he is acquainted.
He said he would ask her about any investigation and let NPR know when he learned, NPR reported. It said he did not contact the outlet.
“I hate to disappoint but I don’t engage with rag reporting anymore… Business as usual on my end haters!” Santos posted on X.
I hate to disappoint but I don’t engage with rag reporting anymore…
Business as usual on my end haters! 💋
— George Santos (@Georgesantos) June 3, 2026
NPR said a source told it Lara does not know Santos.
As noted by The Guardian, Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 for misusing campaign funds.
In April 2025, Santos was sentenced to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and identity theft. Trump later commuted his sentence and he was freed from prison last year.
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