Former CIA officer accused of stealing 300 gold bars, sources say

WASHINGTON — A former CIA senior officer with Top-Secret level clearance has been accused secretly stashing millions in gold bars in his home that he said he needed for “work-related expenses,” according to court documents and two people familiar with the officer’s employment history.

David Rush, who held a management position, was charged with criminal theft of public money in a complaint filed last week in the Eastern District of Virginia. His lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment.

He was also accused of of lying to his employers about his background for nearly two decades.

When asked about Rush’s case, a spokesperson with the CIA said in a statement that the FBI had arrested an individual after a referral from the agency.

“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” according to the written statement. “The FBI is working closely with our partners at the CIA and the Department of Justice as we continue to investigate this matter fully. We are committed to following the facts, ensuring accountability, and pursuing justice in accordance with the law.”

The case raises questions about the effectiveness of the federal government’s security vetting, which is supposed to ensure intelligence officers or other government employees do not betray the public trust or spy for a foreign country.

The U.S. government conducts background investigations on every prospective employee at the CIA and other agencies granted access to sensitive and secret information. And after an employee is hired, the government continues to monitor their financial activity, travel, credit records, and other information through automated checks to ensure the individual is not vulnerable to blackmail.

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, which falls under the authority of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, oversees the background check program known as “continuous vetting.” When the program flags a potential problem or anomaly in an employee’s records, officials then investigate the case further.

It wasn’t clear how the investigation into Rush began, and it also wasn’t clear when he left the CIA, but his home was raided just last week.

Rush applied to work with the government three times; his first he said he graduated from Clemson University in 2000. In his second application, he added that he had a graduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

On his third try in 2009, he succeeded, and he included those degrees plus an aircraft test from the U.S. naval test pilot school, according to court documents. In applications for promotions, he said he’d been a thesis advisor at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Rush also told employers he was a pilot for the U.S. Navy.

None of it was true, according to the charges against him; he didn’t graduate from the schools and investigators say the Federal Aviation Administration does not have a certificate or pilots license registered to Rush.

From November through March, Rush made several requests for funds, including for foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars, according to an affidavit filed in federal court by an FBI agent investigating the case.

In a storage space near his office, investigators found only a portion of the funds. On May 18, federal agents searched Rush’s home and seized roughly 300 gold bars worth more than $40 million, court documents said. Agents also seized approximately $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches, mostly Rolexes, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit alleges Rush knowingly took a portion of the money he requested for work-related expenses to his home for personal gain.

The court filing did not specify which agency employed Rush; but the two people familiar with his employment history said he was with the CIA.

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