Ex-CIA official with R746 million gold stash pleads guilty to fraud

Former CIA official David Rush, who was arrested in May with a collection of gold bars valued at over $45 million (R746 million), pleaded guilty to fraud on Tuesday. Rush, a 49-year-old with a top-secret security clearance at the Central Intelligence Agency, faces a sentencing on January 28 and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors allege that while employed by the CIA, Rush created a fictitious classified program to obtain government funds, which he then used for his own benefit. The scheme allegedly resulted in Rush fraudulently obtaining $193 million, which he used to purchase gold bars, luxury items, and properties in Florida. Law enforcement seized 298 gold bars and $2 million in cash from Rush's home in Virginia in a May raid.

In addition to the fraud charges, prosecutors state that Rush transmitted top-secret national defense information to a foreign government official in 2025, including details about a US government clandestine human source. The identity of the foreign official was not revealed. CIA Director John Ratcliffe expressed disappointment in Rush's actions, stating that he abused his position and betrayed the public trust, and should be held accountable for his actions.

According to prosecutors, Rush fabricated a highly classified program to justify the acquisition of luxury real estate, intending to sell it for personal profit. He also fabricated a separate sensitive government activity to justify the acquisition of the gold bars, neither of which existed, and Rush was not authorized to acquire the assets as he claimed. Furthermore, Rush lied about his educational and professional background, falsely claiming to have been a US military pilot.