Former CIA Senior Official Charged With Stealing 303 Gold Bars Worth Over $40 Million From Federal Government
David Rush, a former top-secret-cleared CIA employee, was arrested on May 19 after FBI agents recovered the gold bars, $2 million in cash, and dozens of luxury watches from his Virginia home.
A former senior official at the Central Intelligence Agency has been charged with criminal theft of public money after federal agents recovered more than 300 gold bars valued at over $40 million from his Virginia residence, according to federal court filings in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The official, identified as David Rush, held top secret-level security clearance and is described in court documents as a "former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency." Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, where he lives.
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In a joint statement, the FBI and CIA said Rush was arrested following a referral from the CIA, after an internal investigation identified "potential violations of law."
According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent investigating the case, between November 2025 and March 2026, Rush requested and received a "significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses." Rush's employer at the time — which sources confirmed was the CIA — was subsequently unable to locate the gold bars or determine their intended use.
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 approximately 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolexes. Rush was arrested the following day, May 19, according to the FBI.
The FBI affidavit concludes that there is probable cause to believe Rush "knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or knowingly converted a thing of value of the United States" for his personal use.
Rush is currently being held in jail while both his defense attorneys and federal prosecutors "gather and evaluate additional information" to assist the court in determining whether he should remain detained. They have jointly requested to postpone his detention hearing until June 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The charges extend beyond the theft of government property. 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 to have graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Instead, investigators 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, and that he did not appear to have undergone any evaluations as a pilot during that time, and did not attend either college.
The FBI said it is continuing to investigate the matter in coordination with the CIA and Department of Justice. Rush's specific role at the CIA and when he left the agency have not been officially confirmed. His lawyer declined to comment, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
The exact origin of the gold bars including the country or operation from which they were sourced has not been officially confirmed in court records made publicly available.
