A former senior CIA official confessed to inventing a fictitious “highly classified” government operation as part of an effort to obtain Florida real estate and more than $40 million in gold bars.
David J. Rush created the false narrative to make the purchase of luxury properties appear legitimate, while planning to sell them for his own financial gain, court documents state.
In a plea document, Rush acknowledged disclosing “certain descriptive information” to a foreign official. The information could have threatened the safety of a human intelligence source and the US government personnel working with that individual.
Prosecutors said the disclosure also risked damaging America’s ability to recruit future human sources, who depend on the government’s promise that their identities and cooperation will remain absolutely confidential.
The court filing says Rush separately invented a nonexistent “sensitive government activity” to help him obtain the gold bars.
According to the Justice Department, the combined fraud resulted in losses of approximately $194 million for the federal government.
Prosecutors further allege that Rush misrepresented his military service and education to colleagues and government contractors. He also claimed, falsely, that senior US officials had approved the fictional program he described.
“Rush used his legitimate government authority and manufactured personal bona fides to create confidence in his directions,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
David J. Rush (pictured) allegedly invented a “highly classified” government program to support his purchase of luxury properties in south Florida, which he planned to resell for personal profit, court documents state.
Gold bars and cash were seized from the Virginia home of David Rush, the former CIA official who pleaded guilty to fraud.
Court records show that Rush pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud during a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia.
US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff is expected to sentence him on January 28.
The Tuesday filing states that, several months earlier, Rush attempted to arrange the unauthorized release of $100 million connected to a government contract.
He allegedly instructed another person to send roughly $145 million to a holding company created at his request. The money was then used to purchase four luxury properties in Palm Beach and Hobe Sound, Florida, prosecutors said.
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In earlier filings, prosecutors alleged that Rush kept more than $40 million worth of gold bars—belonging to the federal government—at his Virginia residence.
They also accused him of improperly collecting tens of thousands of dollars in military leave payments after receiving an honorable discharge from the US Navy in 2015.
An FBI agent’s affidavit states that investigators arrested Rush after searching his home and finding approximately 300 gold bars, around $2 million in US currency and about 35 luxury watches.
Following his first court appearance earlier this year, a judge ordered Rush to remain in custody without bond.
Rush was arrested in May after investigators searched his home and recovered more than 300 gold bars, approximately $2 million in US cash and about 35 luxury watches, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
The case has raised questions about how Rush—whose work involved some of the government’s most sensitive programs—could allegedly create such an operation without receiving authorization from his superiors.
During a hearing in June, defense attorney Jessica Carmichael said Rush wasn’t charged initially with any crimes related to the discovery of the gold bars, which she referred to as ‘basically a non-issue’ and ‘nothing more than a sensational tidbit.’
She said her client properly obtained the gold bars and kept them locked in a safe in his basement.
‘Mr. Rush never claimed they were his,’ Carmichael said.
Authorities say Rush lied about his education and military background on job applications, falsely claiming to be a former Navy pilot who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University in South Carolina and a master´s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Investigators determined that he didn´t serve as a Navy pilot and didn´t attend either school.
Rush enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and was honorably discharged from the US Navy Reserves as a lieutenant in 2015, according to the FBI affidavit.
This is a developing story.
