Article

2026-05-28 Government Corruption

Feds seize $40M in gold bars, cash, Rolexes from former CIA official who faked being a Navy pilot

[FoxNews] David J. Rush allegedly claimed $40M in gold bars and foreign currency were for 'work-related expenses'

A former senior U.S. government official with top secret security clearance was arrested after the FBI raided his Virginia home and discovered a staggering $40 million stash of gold bars, $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, court documents reveal.

David J. Rush was arrested May 19 and is facing federal charges for theft of public money after allegedly swindling the government out of tens of millions of dollars while posing as a highly decorated Navy Reserve captain and Air Force test pilot.

He held a senior position with the CIA until recently, according to a report from The New York Times.

According to an unsealed criminal complaint and FBI affidavit, the grift unraveled after Rush made multiple requests to his agency between November 2025 and March 2026 for a "significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars."

Rush claimed the payout was strictly for "work-related expenses," but an FBI search of his home on May 18 turned up roughly 303 one-kilogram gold bars, $2 million in U.S. currency and dozens of luxury watches, many of which were Rolexes, according to court documents.

A federal investigation revealed that despite holding a Senior Executive Service (SES) rank and Top Secret/SCI clearance, Rush routinely lied about his military background and education.

In applications for his high-level job, Rush claimed he was a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the "current director of test for a 145-person, 18-aircraft joint Army/Navy weapons test organization," according to court documents.

However, military records show Rush was never a pilot and held no FAA licenses; his actual duties in the Navy included working as an information systems technician.
"But I played MS's Flight Simulator!"
He also allegedly faked his educational credentials to boost his federal salary, claiming he held a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, according to the filings.

Registrars from both universities confirmed to the FBI they have no record of Rush ever attending their schools.

Further, the FBI claims that Rush scammed the government out of $77,000 in fraudulent military leave, claiming 744 hours of paid time off by telling his employer he was actively serving as a Navy Reserve captain (O-6) through September 2025.

Rush was honorably discharged a decade earlier, in February 2015, as a lieutenant (O-3), according to court documents.

He is currently being held in federal custody by the U.S. Marshals after a judge initially denied his request for release.

Rush recently waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and a magistrate judge found probable cause to move the case to a grand jury.

The FBI and CIA did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital. # id) ?>

Posted by Skidmark 2026-05-28 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [1875 views ] Top

1 Just saying...
He's CIA.
Isn't he supposed to lie about everything?
😎

Posted by NN2N1 2026-05-28 02:56|| 2026-05-28 02:56|| Front Page Top

2 Somalis will be venerating this guy as their patron saint.

Posted by Super Hose 2026-05-28 06:19|| 2026-05-28 06:19|| Front Page Top

3 How many more are there like Dave ?

Posted by Besoeker 2026-05-28 06:22|| 2026-05-28 06:22|| Front Page Top

4 ^Very few - most have numbered Swiss accounts.

Posted by Grom the Reflective 2026-05-28 06:26|| 2026-05-28 06:26|| Front Page Top

5 .,..Hey, if yer gonna go...go BIG.

Mike

Posted by MikeKozlowski 2026-05-28 06:32|| 2026-05-28 06:32|| Front Page Top

6 I'm hazarding a guess he was in the Support Directorate. The CIA doesn't publicly list their SIS/SES positions. And whoever did the background check for him needs to be canned too.

Posted by Clem+Elmish4239 2026-05-28 06:46|| 2026-05-28 06:46|| Front Page Top

7 /\ Yes, very likely National Resource Division (NRD)...'Back in the rear with the gear' division. Not generally as accountable as deployers, as I recall. Not the Ralph Goff type.

I hope they 'run the traps' on Dave. There is that odd chance.... he was not acting alone.

Ralph Goff

Posted by Besoeker 2026-05-28 06:59|| 2026-05-28 06:59|| Front Page Top

8 Am I the only person in the US who doesn't have a security clearance?

Posted by Chris 2026-05-28 12:23|| 2026-05-28 12:23|| Front Page Top

9 Sorry Chris, you're not the only one. I don't have one either.

Posted by alanc 2026-05-28 17:22|| 2026-05-28 17:22|| Front Page Top

10 What a colossal Charlie Foxtrot. How did he get in the front door? OGA does their own backgrounds (cough..2015 OPM Hack..cough) so they know exactly who didn't do the most basic of record checks. This is BI 101 stuff - verify education. A school bus driver gets checked.

He applied x 3 - another red flag. CI should've been all over this BI from day 1. Then he's on a rocket ship for promotions. SES/SIS in 10 years? Virtually unheard of in any USG dept.

The same people that did his BI are now going over everything he touched/did. But of course this will be buried. "We investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing by ourselves" yada yada.

Never forget - "we lie for living" is more than a motto - its a way of life...

Posted by Bangkok Billy 2026-05-28 20:50|| 2026-05-28 20:50|| Front Page Top

11 …who doesn't have a security clearance?

I don’t imagine I have one, Chris, which is just as well. Keeping secrets is not my strength, so I prefer not knowing such things. Knowing things that are not secrets is a different story.

Posted by trailing wife 2026-05-28 23:17|| 2026-05-28 23:17|| Front Page Top

12 Chris, I had a low level one while I was in the service, but they aren’t portable and expire when you leave a job where they are required. Anyone with an active security clearance is unlikely to be sharing opinions in this type of forum. The folks with active clearances share their opinions in Georgetown bars after James O’Keefe gets them hammered.

Posted by Super Hose 2026-05-28 23:01|| 2026-05-28 23:01|| Front Page Top

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