Ex-US spy found with $40m in gold bars pleads guilty to wire fraud

A former CIA official arrested in May, who had more than $40m (£30.1m) in gold bars taken from work in his home, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

A federal judge on Tuesday approved a plea deal between David Rush, 49, and federal prosecutors requiring him to pay nearly $200m in restitution to the government and forfeit luxury real estate, cars, watches and other assets tied to his crime.

As part of the 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 deal.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Ex-CIA official accused of stashing $40m in gold bars is 'master manipulator', prosecutors say