Gold Rush: Did CIA agent steal $40m in gold bars via work expenses?

David Rush, a former senior CIA official, was arrested May 19 after a CIA internal investigation identified potential legal violations and referred the case to the FBI. The FBI affidavit alleges that from 2009 to May 2026, Rush knowingly embezzled valuables belonging to the US government. Hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million were found hidden in his home. Rush is being held in jail pending a detention hearing in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The affidavit describes him as a former senior executive service-level employee with top secret clearance and access to classified information. It also alleges he repeatedly lied about credentials, including education and military service details, after leaving the Navy Reserves in 2015.

"A former senior Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official has been accused of criminal theft of public money after hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40m were found hidden in his home. David Rush, the former official, was arrested on May 19, according to a joint statement released by the CIA and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Following an internal investigation within the CIA, which identified potential violations of the law, they said, the agency's director John Ratcliffe referred the case to the FBI. Rush is currently being held in jail, awaiting a detention hearing on Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia."

"In an FBI affidavit filed on May 20, Rush is described as a former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency who had top secret clearance and access to classified information. It is unclear what position he held in the CIA. The affidavit asserts that from 2009 to May 2026, Rush knowingly embezzled valuables belonging to the US government."

"According to the affidavit, Rush enlisted in the US Navy in 1997. In 2004, he submitted a transcript from South Carolina's Clemson University, on the basis of which the Navy commissioned him as an officer in the US Navy Reserves. In February 2015, Rush was honourably discharged from the Navy Reserves with the rank of lieutenant. There is no record of him serving in any branch of the US military after that date."

"But US government records indicate that after February 2015, Rush claimed 744 hours of military leave, most recently in September 2025. This military leave amounted to about $77,000 in compensation. On or around September last year, Rush told US government services that he was in the Navy Reserves, serving as a captain, which is a higher rank than lieutenant, the affidavit states. The affidavit further adds that Rush repeatedly lied about his education and"

Read at www.aljazeera.com