Ex-US spy who stashed gold bars in his home admits to $200m scam

A former CIA officer who was arrested after authorities found hundreds of gold bars stashed in his home has admitted to defrauding the US government in a sprawling $200m (£151m) scam involving fake contracts and real estate.

David Rush, 49, is required to pay restitution to the government and forfeit luxury real estate, cars, watches and other assets tied to his crime as part of the plea deal.

Rush also confessed to providing secrets to a foreign government, which could have caused "grave damage" to national security.

"The defendant will plead guilty because the defendant is in fact guilty of the charged offense," prosecutors stated in a court filing outlining the plea deal.

The BBC has contacted Rush's lawyer, who declined to comment.

Rush was initially charged with theft of public funds, but has now pleaded guilty to wire fraud. At the time of his arrest, a raid on his home uncovered 298 gold bars that he had received for "work-related expenses".

Court filings around the deal bring new details to light, including that Rush revealed the existence and description of a "clandestine human source" to a foreign official.

"The disclosure of such information could endanger the safety and life of the human source and the US government officers working with the source and jeopardize the US government's ability to recruit human sources, who rely on the US government's assurances of absolute secrecy," prosecutors said in the filing.

In a news release, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Rush "abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions".

FBI investigators said that between November 2025 to March 2026 Rush made repeated requests for "a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses".

"Rush fabricated a highly classified program to justify the acquisition of luxury real estate in South Florida, which he then intended to resell for personal profit," the court filing laying out the deal states.

Rush "effectively acted as his own approving official, enabling him to expend substantial amounts of United States government money without meaningful scrutiny", according to the filing.

He then used "fraudulently obtained" public funds to acquire luxury real estate properties in southern Florida. According to the court filing, part of the scam included hiring an interior designer and purchasing $40,000 worth of kitchen appliances for one property.

The wire transfer charge was related to a $45m transfer that he initiated in January 2026. The plea deal also says that he provided top secret data to "a foreign government official who was not authorised to receive it and had no need to know it".

Along with the gold bars, Rush was also found with $2m in cash and 35 luxury watches.

Prosecutors said Rush was moving funds into commodities that could be easily traded, citing "strong evidence" he was trying to hide the money.

Under the deal, he is also required to turn in the watches and two BMW vehicles, along with the cash and nearly $39m that was seized from his bank account.

A federal judge will set his sentence at a later date, and a hearing has been scheduled for 28 January. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but prosecutors noted that the time can be added to under federal law.

In June, US Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick cited Rush's professional career in deciding he was a flight risk, and ordered him held in jail pending trial.

"He's in a different position than most people to flee and avoid detection by law enforcement," he said.

Court records do not go into detail about Rush's work for the CIA, and describe him as a former senior executive in a US government agency in Virginia who had top secret clearance and access to classified information.

US media have confirmed his former employment with the CIA. According to The Washington Post, he was senior executive in the agency's Directorate of Science and Technology, which develops high-tech spy tools.

He had also previously been accused of fraudulently taking military leave with pay after being honourably discharged from the US Navy, and for lying about his education and military service when applying for his job in 2009. Court records show Rush was accused of falsely telling employers he had been a navy pilot.

"These and other representations concerning Rush's military and academic accomplishments were false," the plea deal filing states.

It is unclear how he was able to lie on his application form, and according to The Washington Post, several CIA officials have been placed on leave as they investigate why he was able to pass a background check.

The government had argued previously that large sums of the funds are still unaccounted for, a claim which his lawyer has denied.