Ex-CIA official pleads guilty to wire fraud

A former senior CIA official pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Virginia to abusing his position and government funds to enrich himself. David J Rush fabricated a "highly classified" government program to justify acquiring luxury property in south Florida for personal profit, according to court records.

Rush also concocted a bogus "sensitive government activity" to obtain hundreds of gold bars worth tens of millions of dollars. Prosecutors accused Rush of lying to colleagues and government contractors about his military and academic credentials and the fake program, falsely claiming it was authorized by high-ranking US officials.

During a hearing in June, Rush's defense attorney, Jessica Carmichael, referred to the gold bars as "basically a non-issue" and "nothing more than a sensational tidbit," stating her client properly obtained them and kept them locked in a safe. Authorities said Rush lied about his education and military background on job applications, falsely claiming to be a navy pilot who graduated from Clemson University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Investigators determined he did not serve as a navy pilot and did not attend those schools; he enlisted in the navy in 1997 and was honorably discharged from the navy reserves as a lieutenant in 2015.

Prosecutors also said Rush tried to fraudulently authorize the release of $100 million from a government contract, directing someone to transfer approximately $145 million to a holding company he formed. He used these funds to acquire four luxury properties in Palm Beach and Hobe Sound, Florida. In previous filings, prosecutors stated Rush stashed more than $40 million worth of gold bars from the federal government at his Virginia home and claimed tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for military leave after his 2015 discharge. Investigators searched his home and seized about 300 gold bars, roughly $2 million in US currency, and 35 luxury watches. A judge ordered Rush held without bond.