Former CIA officer charged with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of gold bars from government

By Holmes Lybrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — A former CIA officer in Virginia has been charged with stealing tens of millions of dollars in gold bars and foreign currency from the very agency he worked for, according to an FBI affidavit and a source familiar with the matter.

David Rush was arrested last week in Virginia on one charge of theft of public money. He has not yet entered a plea and remains behind bars pending a detention hearing in the case.

The FBI alleges Rush became a senior executive government employee with top-secret clearance by lying repeatedly on applications about his military service and education, falsely saying he was a Navy pilot and had advanced degrees.

Court documents, however, don’t clarify why the CIA failed to detect Rush’s false claims before hiring and promoting him. He worked for the agency for 17 years, according to an FBI affidavit, and his claims were easily dispelled by investigators.

CNN has attempted to reach an attorney for Rush for comment.

After leaving the military and joining the government, Rush falsely “claimed 744 hours of Military Leave on his official timesheet” since being honorably discharged in 2015, taking in roughly $77,000 in fraudulent compensation, the FBI affidavit claims.

Late last year, Rush asked for “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to the FBI affidavit.

Two days before his arrest, the FBI searched Rush’s home, finding over 300 gold bars worth approximately $40 million along with $2 million in cash and “35 luxury watches, many of which were Rolex brand,” the affidavit says.

The remainder of the funds Rush allegedly stole have not yet been recovered.

Rush applied three separate times to work for the government and eventually was hired in 2009 and later promoted after lying about his time in the US Navy, falsely claiming he was a pilot, as well as falsely claiming he had bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the affidavit says.

The Navy told investigators Rush worked in part as an information systems technician during his service and the universities Rush claimed to have degrees from said they had no record of him.

Prosecutors alleged that Rush also falsely stated “he was the current Director of Test for a 145-person, 18-aircraft joint Army/Navy weapons test organization.”

In 2018, as part of his application for the senior executive service level, Rush also falsely claimed “he had an eleven-year tenure as a Thesis/Dissertation advisor at the Air Force Institute of Technology,” according to the affidavit.

He no longer works for the CIA.

In statements to CNN, the FBI and CIA said the person — who has now been identified as a CIA employee — was arrested on May 19.

“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation. The FBI is working closely with our partners at the CIA and the Department of Justice as we continue to investigate this matter fully. We are committed to following the facts, ensuring accountability, and pursuing justice in accordance with the law,” the FBI statement said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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