David Rush was charged with criminal theft of public money after investigators found gold bars, about $2 million and luxury watches in his home, NBC News reported.
WASHINGTON — A former CIA officer is accused of stashing more than $40 million in gold bars in his home, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency and dozens of luxury watches, according to NBC News.
David Rush was charged with criminal theft of public money in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to court documents. NBC News said his lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment.
From November through March, Rush made requests for funds, including foreign currency and millions of dollars in gold bars. Investigators found a portion of the funds in a storage space near his office. Federal agents then searched Rush’s home on May 18 and seized about 300 gold bars, along with the currency and 35 luxury watches, according an FBI affidavit.
The affidavit didn’t say which agency employed Rush, but two people familiar with his employment history told NBC News that he was employed with the CIA.
When asked about Rush, a CIA spokesperson, in a joint statement with the FBI, told NBC News that the FBI had arrested a person after a referral from the agency.
“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” the written statement said. “The FBI is working closely with our partners at the CIA and the Department of Justice as we continue to investigate this matter fully. We are committed to following the facts, ensuring accountability, and pursuing justice in accordance with the law.”
Court documents also say Rush, who held a management position, lied about his educational and employment background. He applied to the CIA three times, saying at different times he had graduated from Clemson University and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and that he had an aircraft test from the U.S. Naval Pilot School. At other times he said he was a thesis adviser at the Air Force Institute of Technology and was a Navy pilot.
None of it was true, according to the charges.