{"id":3791,"date":"2026-05-28T05:39:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/28\/ex-cia-official-charged-with-stealing-millions-of-dollars-in-gold-bars\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:39:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:39:48","slug":"ex-cia-official-charged-with-stealing-millions-of-dollars-in-gold-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=3791","title":{"rendered":"Ex-CIA official charged with stealing millions of dollars in gold bars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ex-CIA official charged with stealing millions of dollars in gold bars<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

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\n The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency is displayed at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., April 13, 2016.
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A former senior CIA official with top secret-level clearance is accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home.<\/p>\n

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David Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, where he lives.<\/p>\n

From November to March, Rush requested and received a “significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent investigating the case.<\/p>\n

The affidavit says its unclear what Rush intended to use the funds for, but that a portion of it was found in a storage space near his office.<\/p>\n

Federal officials searched his home on May 18 and seized more than 300 gold bars with an estimated value of more than $40 million, according to the affidavit. They also seized roughly $2 million in U.S. currency and some 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolexes. Rush was arrested the next day, the FBI said.<\/p>\n

The FBI affidavit concludes that there’s probable cause to believe that Rush “knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or knowingly converted a thing of value of the United States” for his personal use.<\/p>\n

The FBI said it was working with the CIA and Department of Justice in its investigation.<\/p>\n

Rush’s lawyer declined to comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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It’s not clear what role Rush had at the CIA or when he left the agency. He’s described in court filings simply as a “former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency.” Spokespersons for the FBI declined to comment further, and the CIA didn’t respond to an email.<\/p>\n

The FBI affidavit also notes that Rush appears to have lied for years about his education and military background. The bureau’s investigation found he had falsely claimed to be a Navy pilot and that he’d graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.<\/p>\n

Instead, they found he had enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and then served in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 2004 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged as a lieutenant. The affidavit states he does not appear to have underwent any evaluations as a pilot during that time, and he did not attend either college.<\/p>\n

Rush is being held in custody pending a hearing Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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