Ex-CIA Official Accused of Stealing $40M in Gold Bars, Lying About Credentials

David Rush, a former CIA official, was arrested and charged with one count of stealing public money, according to court records and sources familiar with the matter, as reported by CBS News on Thursday, May 28.

When agents searched Rush’s home on May 18, they reportedly found approximately 303 gold bars valued at more than $40 million, along with $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches.

Per the outlet, between November 2025 and March of this year, Rush allegedly submitted multiple requests to obtain large amounts of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars, claiming they were needed for “work-related expenses.” Rush’s employer at the time was the CIA, and was later unable to locate the bars or determine what they were ever used for.

The arrest followed an internal CIA probe. In a joint statement, the FBI and CIA said Rush was taken into custody after “an internal investigation identified ‘potential violations of law,'” according to the report. Both agencies say the investigation is ongoing.

But the gold was just the beginning. The criminal complaint also accuses Rush of repeatedly misrepresenting his educational and military background.

According to the outlet, the FBI alleges he lied to the U.S. Navy when he enlisted in 1997 by submitting fraudulent transcripts claiming he had graduated from Clemson University. He later listed degrees from Clemson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School on multiple federal employment applications and on his security clearance paperwork.

In 2018, he allegedly claimed to be a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the director of an 18-aircraft joint Army/Navy weapons test organization. The FBI states he was never a Navy pilot and did not graduate from Clemson or RPI.

Prosecutors also allege he falsely claimed to still be serving in the Navy Reserves — despite having been honorably discharged in 2015 — in order to collect tens of thousands of dollars in military leave compensation, per the report.

Rush is currently being held in jail. According to the outlet, his defense team and prosecutors have jointly requested to postpone his detention hearing until Thursday, June 5, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia while both sides “gather and evaluate additional information.”