Utah files 14 criminal charges against Kalshi & its founders
The criminal filing follows a civil suit claiming Kalshi took up to $61.1m from Utah users.
The hit
Utah has moved from suing Kalshi to charging it criminally. Attorney General Derek Brown filed 14 counts against KalshiEX LLC, CEO Tarek Mansour & COO Luana Lopes Lara on 28 October, accusing the prediction market of promoting illegal online gambling, according to Crypto Briefing. The charges came a day after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission & the Department of Justice jointly sued to stop Utah enforcing its gambling laws against the company.
Why it matters
Naming the co-founders personally changes the stakes. A civil suit risks company money; a criminal case puts named executives in legal jeopardy. The clash also pits a federal regulator against a state attorney general wielding criminal law, & Utah’s sting-based case gives other states a template to follow if they want to challenge prediction markets the same way.
The record
| Criminal charges filed | Including 12 for online gambling promotion (Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, 28 October) |
|---|---|
| Undercover sting | Agent opened a Kalshi account & placed 12 sports wagers in September (charging documents) |
| Civil suit filed | 20 October, seeking to block Kalshi & force geofencing of Utah users |
| Fees Utah seeks to recover | $30.5m to $61.1m collected from Utah users, February to mid-October 2026 (civil complaint) |
| Court ruling | Federal judge ruled Utah’s gambling laws apply to Kalshi, 4 August; Tenth Circuit denied a stay, 8 September |
| States facing CFTC action | Utah is the tenth state facing CFTC action on prediction markets |
What happens next
Watch how the courts handle the CFTC & Department of Justice preemption suit against Utah, & whether Utah’s criminal case proceeds or pauses pending that outcome.
Sources: Utah criminally charges Kalshi with promoting illegal gambling
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