Former Congressman George Santos was supposed to attend President Trump’s State of the Union in February. He didn’t show up.

Instead, he allegedly profited tens of thousands by betting on Kalshi that he wouldn’t appear, NPR reported.

A DOJ official told the Washington Examiner there is no active investigation, contradicting NPR’s reporting.

On Wednesday, rival platform Polymarket told the AP it had terminated its paid influencer contract with the former congressman as a direct result of the Kalshi allegations.

What Happened

Santos posted a video on X the day before the address saying he would be “in the gallery,” sending Kalshi odds on his attendance to 75%, according to the Associated Press. He never appeared.

Three people with direct knowledge of the trades told NPR that Santos publicly hyped his attendance while simultaneously holding bets against it.

Santos called the accusation “preposterous” in an X post, noting his legal team is in contact with the DOJ to investigate the reported inquiry.

When asked whether he had a Kalshi account, Santos told NPR “I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no.”

He claimed to personally know Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara, though sources told the outlet she does not know him.

Kalshi detected the trades, froze the account, and referred the case to regulators, two people familiar with the platform’s review told NPR.

Insider Trading Scrutiny Mounts On Event Contracts

The reported investigation arrives amid mounting scrutiny of event contract platforms. A U.S. Army soldier was charged in April with using classified information to win $400,000 on a Polymarket contract tied to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro‘s capture.

Last week the DOJ charged a Google employee with making more than $1 million on Polymarket using internal search trend data.

Kalshi flagged more than 400 suspicious trades this year, more than double its 2025 total, according to Reuters.

In a March podcast appearance, Santos addressed Kalshi traders who lost money on his SOTU bet. “I guess people lost money. Some people made unexpected money,” he said. “That’s to show you how fragile these markets are.”

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