George Santos is under federal investigation for suspicious trading activity on prediction market Kalshi related to his State of the Union attendance.
3:12 AM
Former New York congressman George Santos is being investigated by the Department of Justice over his trading activity on the prediction market site Kalshi, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The investigation centers on Santos' conduct surrounding President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on February 24. In the days before the speech, traders on Kalshi placed millions of dollars in bets on who would attend, including markets on Santos, the president's son Barron, USA Hockey star Jack Hughes, and MAGA journalist Nick Shirley.
On February 23, a day before the president's remarks, Santos posted a video to X expressing his intention to attend. "I'm going to be there for the State of Union in the gallery, guys," he said in the social media post. The announcement sent odds on the prediction market soaring.
However, Santos did not attend the event. He later wrote on X: "Watching SOTU from an airport tv was not part of the plan! FML."
Kalshi, the online prediction marketplace, identified suspicious trading activity in the market related to Santos' attendance. According to sources, the platform determined the account belonged to Santos, froze the account, and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
One source familiar with the investigation said Santos had publicly stated he would be attending the speech, then bet against his own attendance—a sequence that prompted the platform's referral to federal prosecutors.
Santos was released from federal prison in February 2026, four months before the State of the Union incident. He had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison in April 2025 on federal fraud and identity theft charges after being ousted from Congress.
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