Ex-CIA official with gold, cash stash pleads guilty to fraud

David J. Rush, a former senior CIA official, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He abused his position and government funds to enrich himself by acquiring Florida real estate and hundreds of gold bars worth over $40 million, according to court records. Rush fabricated a "highly classified" government program to justify the acquisition of luxury property in south Florida that he intended to resell for personal profit.

Rush also concocted a bogus "sensitive government activity" to obtain the gold bars, according to a court filing. The Justice Department states that Rush's fraudulent conduct cost the federal government around $194 million in total losses. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28 in Alexandria, Virginia, and faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Law enforcement seized 298 gold bars and $2 million in cash in a raid on Rush's home in Virginia, according to the Gulf News. Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, also lied to colleagues and government contractors about his military and academic credentials and the fake program that he invented, falsely claiming it was authorised by high-ranking US officials.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, South China Morning Post, Gulf News, NDTV, The Guardian US — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.