FBI Arrests David Rush in Virginia After Finding 303 Gold Bars Worth $40 Million

Federal agents arrested former CIA official David Rush in Virginia after an FBI affidavit said they found about 303 gold bars at his home, with an estimated value of more than $40 million, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches.

“A former senior Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official has been accused of criminal theft of public money after hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40m were found hidden in his home”

Al Jazeera

CBS News said Rush is being held in jail and that court filings show his defense attorneys and federal prosecutors are “gather and evaluate additional information” to decide whether he should remain detained.

Al Jazeera

The FBI and CIA said Rush was arrested following a referral from the CIA after an internal investigation identified “potential violations of law,” and the agencies said they were continuing to investigate the matter.

NPR reported that Rush was arrested on May 19 and that he remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after his request for bond was denied, with a detention hearing postponed to the morning of June 5 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Prosecutors and the FBI affidavit accuse Rush of lying about his education and military background, including claims that he earned an undergraduate degree from Clemson University and was a Navy pilot, which investigators said were not supported by records.

CBS News quoted the FBI complaint accusing Rush of taking the gold bars and making false statements, including that he was “obtaining a fraudulently inflated salary and fraudulently obtaining military leave.”

Associated Press

NPR said the FBI affidavit alleges Rush claimed 744 hours of military leave after being honorably discharged in 2015, and that the CIA internal investigation found it “was unable to locate the gold bars or significant amounts of the foreign currency.”

The Associated Press reported that the FBI affidavit concludes there is probable cause to believe Rush “knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or knowingly converted a thing of value of the United States” for personal use.

Rush faces a charge of theft of public money, and multiple outlets reported that he was scheduled for a detention hearing in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia before it was postponed to June 5.

“A former CIA official was arrested last week after FBI agents allegedly found $40 million worth of gold bars at his home while investigating whether he lied about his educational and military background, according to court records and sources familiar with the matter”

CBS News

CBS News said both sides requested to postpone his detention hearing until June 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, while NPR reported the hearing was moved to the morning of June 5.

The CIA and FBI said in a joint statement that CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI after an internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, and that the FBI was working with the CIA and the Department of Justice to continue investigating the matter fully.

As the case proceeds, the FBI affidavit described Rush as a former senior executive service-level employee with top secret clearance and access to classified information, and it said investigators found he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1997 and was honorably discharged in 2015 as a lieutenant.