A former senior CIA officer with top secret clearance has been charged with theft of public money after federal agents allegedly discovered roughly 300 gold bars worth more than $40 million, $2 million in cash, and dozens of luxury watches inside his Virginia home.
According to court filings, David Rush allegedly requested foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for supposed “work-related expenses” between a four month period. Investigators found part of the requested assets in a storage space near his office before the FBI raided his home on May 18 and recovered the rest.
The complaint alleges Rush diverted some of the funds and gold for personal use. The CIA said Director John Ratcliffe referred the matter to the FBI after an internal investigation identified possible criminal violations.
Court documents also accuse Rush of falsifying his background for nearly two decades. Prosecutors say he falsely claimed degrees from Clemson University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, claimed he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, served as a Navy pilot, and worked as a thesis adviser at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Investigators said none of the credentials were true and the Federal Aviation Administration had no pilot license registered to him.
