WASHINGTON — A former CIA senior officer with top secret-level clearance has been accused of secretly stashing millions of dollars in gold bars in his home that he said he needed for “work-related expenses,” according to court documents and two people familiar with his 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 lying to his employers about his background for nearly two decades.
Asked about Rush’s case, a CIA spokesperson said in a joint statement with the FBI that the FBI had arrested a person 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,” the written statement said. “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 don’t betray the public trust or spy for foreign countries.
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 employees are hired, the government continues to monitor their financial activities, travel, credit records and other information through automated checks to ensure they aren’t 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 investigate further.
It wasn’t clear how the investigation into Rush began, and it also wasn’t clear when he left the CIA. His home was raided last week.
Rush applied to work with the government three times; in his first application, 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 and 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 adviser at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Rush also told employers he was a pilot for the Navy.
None of it was true, according to the charges; he didn’t graduate from the schools, and investigators say the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t have a certificate or a pilot’s 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 about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches, mostly Rolexes, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit alleges Rush knowingly took part of the money he requested for work-related expenses to his home for personal gain.
The court filing didn’t specify which agency employed Rush, but the two people familiar with his employment history said he was with the CIA.
One of the people said most — if not all — of the funds, including foreign currency and the gold — were recovered.
