Ex-US spy found with $40m in gold bars pleads guilty to wire fraud
David Rush, who also confessed to providing secrets to a foreign government, had revealed the existence of a "clandestine human source", prosecutors said.
Ex-CIA spy found with $40m in gold bars pleads guilty to wire fraud
A former CIA official arrested in May, after more than $40m (£30.1m) in gold bars taken from work were found at his home, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
On Tuesday, a federal judge approved a plea agreement between David Rush, 49, and federal prosecutors that requires him to pay nearly $200m in restitution to the government and surrender luxury real estate, cars, watches and other assets linked to his crimes.
Under the deal, Rush also admitted to passing secrets to a foreign government, an act that 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 said in a court filing describing the agreement.
Rush had originally been charged with theft of public funds. When he was arrested, a search of his home turned up 298 gold bars he had received for "work-related expenses".
A federal judge will later determine his sentence, and a hearing has been set for 28 January. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though prosecutors said federal law could allow additional time.
Court filings tied to the deal reveal new details, including that Rush disclosed 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 from November 2025 to March 2026, Rush repeatedly requested "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 outlining the deal says.
According to the filing, Rush "effectively acted as his own approving official, enabling him to expend substantial amounts of United States government money without meaningful scrutiny".
He then used "fraudulently obtained" public funds to buy luxury real estate in southern Florida.
The wire transfer charge stemmed from a $45m transfer he initiated in January 2026. The plea deal also says he provided top secret data to "a foreign government official who was not authorised to receive it and had no need to know it".
In addition to the gold bars, Rush was found with $2m in cash and 35 luxury watches.
Prosecutors said Rush was shifting funds into commodities that could be easily traded, pointing to "strong evidence" that he was trying to conceal the money.
Under the agreement, he must also hand over the watches and two BMW vehicles, along with the cash and nearly $39m seized from his bank account.
In June, US Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick cited Rush's professional background 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 spell out Rush's CIA work, describing him instead as a former senior executive in a US government agency in Virginia who held top secret clearance and access to classified information.
US media have confirmed his former employment with the CIA.
He was a 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 of 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.
The government had previously argued that large sums of the money remain unaccounted for, a claim his lawyer has denied.