Who is David Rush? Ex-CIA official accused of stealing $40 million in gold bars

Washington DC: A former senior CIA official with top-secret security clearance has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $40 million worth of gold bars and millions in cash from the US government, according to federal court filings in Virginia.

David Rush was arrested last week and charged with criminal theft of public money after investigators allegedly recovered over 300 gold bars, luxury watches and large quantities of cash from his home during an FBI search.

According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent, Rush had, between November and March, requested and received a “significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses.”

Investigators said it remains unclear what the funds were intended for, though part of the missing assets was reportedly discovered in a storage facility near his office.

Federal authorities searched Rush’s residence on May 18 and allegedly seized more than 300 gold bars valued at over $40 million. Agents also recovered nearly $2 million in US currency and around 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolexes, the affidavit stated.

Rush was arrested a day later.

The FBI affidavit concluded that there was probable cause to believe Rush “knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or knowingly converted a thing of value of the United States” for personal use.

The FBI said it is working jointly with the CIA and the Department of Justice in the ongoing investigation.

Rush’s lawyer declined to comment on the allegations.

Court records identify Rush only as a “former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency.” Officials have not disclosed his exact role within the CIA or when he left the agency.

The investigation also uncovered allegations that Rush may have fabricated parts of his educational and military background over several years.

According to the affidavit, Rush falsely claimed to have served as a Navy pilot and to have graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.

Investigators instead found that he enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and later served in the US Navy Reserves from 2004 to 2015, receiving an honorable discharge as a lieutenant. The affidavit added that there was no evidence he had undergone pilot evaluations during his service, nor attended either university he claimed as his alma mater.

The case has sparked major attention in the United States due to the scale of the alleged theft and Rush’s access to highly classified government operations.