Former CIA official accused of stealing $40M in gold bars pleads guilty

This image provided by U.S. Department of Justice, and contained in a court filing, shows gold bars and cash that was seized from a David J. Rush’s home, during a search on May 19, 2026, in Ashburn, Va.

U.S. Dept. of Justice via AP


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U.S. Dept. of Justice via AP

WASHINGTON — A former senior CIA official pleaded guilty Tuesday in Virginia to a charge that he abused his position and government funds to enrich himself by acquiring Florida real estate and hundreds of gold bars worth over $40 million, according to court records.

David J. Rush fabricated a “highly classified” government program to justify the acquisition of luxury property in south Florida that he intended to resell for personal profit, according to a court filing. Rush separately concocted a bogus “sensitive government activity” to obtain the gold bars, the filing says.

Rush’s fraudulent conduct cost the federal government approximately $194 million in total losses, according to the Justice Department. The losses included over $1.8 million in privately chartered flights that Rush authorized for personal use at the government’s expense.

Under questioning from investigators, Rush admitted that he provided a foreign government official with information about the identity of a secret source for the U.S. government, a new court filing says. The filing doesn’t specify which country the foreign official represented.

Prosecutors also accuse Rush of lying to colleagues and government contractors about his military and academic credentials and the fake program that he invented, falsely claiming it was authorized by high-ranking U.S. officials.

“Rush used his legitimate government authority and manufactured personal bona fides to create confidence in his directions,” the court filing says.

Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, court records show. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff is scheduled to sentence Rush on Jan. 28 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Several months ago, Rush tried to fraudulently authorize the release of $100 million from a government contract, according to Tuesday’s filing. He directed somebody else to transfer approximately $145 million to a holding company formed at his direction, then used those funds to acquire four “luxury” properties in Palm Beach and Hobe Sound, Florida, the filing says.

In previous court filings, prosecutors said Rush stashed roughly $46 million worth of gold bars from the federal government at his Virginia home. They also accused him of fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for military leave after he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 2015.

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