A senior intelligence operative accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million and hiding them at home remained in custody in Virginia on Friday after a judge postponed his first court appearance to next week.
Details of the Alleged Theft
David Rush, a former executive service-level employee for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is alleged to have taken 303 bullion bars, each weighing 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram), and more than $2 million in foreign currency from his government office, according to an eight-page FBI affidavit. He was arrested last week and charged with stealing public money after a search warrant executed at his home in the eastern district of Virginia also turned up 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolex.
FBI special agent Matthew Johnson wrote in the criminal complaint filed in U.S. district court in the eastern district of Virginia that between November 2025 and March 2026, Rush made several requests to the United States government to obtain a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses. The document did not explain what Rush intended to do with the gold and cash, which was discovered missing from an office he used at a government storage space.
Additional Charges
The theft of public money charge relates not to the bullion or currency but to the allegation that Rush falsified his educational qualifications and military service to secure his job with the CIA. He joined the agency in 2009 and secured top secret/secure compartmented information clearance, according to the FBI. Rush is also alleged to have committed timecard fraud. Johnson wrote that since being honorably discharged in February 2015, Rush claimed 744 hours of military leave on his official timesheet, representing approximately $77,000 in compensation. He left the navy as a lieutenant but represented himself in the navy reserves as a captain and falsely claimed to have been a navy pilot.
A joint statement from the CIA and the FBI said Rush was arrested on May 19. 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 New York Times. Rush was denied bond, and magistrate judge William Fitzpatrick on Thursday agreed to postpone a detention hearing until June 5.
