A former senior CIA official is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he stole more than $40 million worth of gold bars from the government. David Rush, who once held a high-level role inside one of the most locked-down agencies in the country, is now accused of walking off with the kind of stash people usually expect to see in a Netflix crime doc.
According to court documents reported by the Associated Press, investigators found more than 300 gold bars, about $2 million in cash, and 35 luxury watches at Rush’s Virginia home and a nearby storage space. Prosecutors say the assets were supposed to be used for work-related expenses, but instead, a major portion allegedly ended up hidden away.
And the case gets even messier. Federal investigators also claim Rush lied about parts of his background, including alleged false claims about his military and education history. Prosecutors say he was not a Navy pilot and did not attend Clemson University or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, despite reportedly making those claims.
Rush has been charged, but he has not been convicted. His attorney declined to comment, according to the AP.
Still, the optics are wild. The CIA is built on secrecy, security, and control, yet prosecutors say one of its own allegedly had hundreds of gold bars sitting outside government hands. Now the question is not just how this allegedly happened, but how long it took for anyone to catch it.
