Feds seize $40M in gold bars, cash, Rolexes from former CIA official who faked being a Navy pilot

A former senior U.S. government official with top secret security clearance was arrested after the FBI raided his Virginia home and discovered a staggering $40 million stash of gold bars, $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, court documents reveal.

David J. Rush was arrested May 19 and is facing federal charges for theft of public money after allegedly swindling the government out of tens of millions of dollars while posing as a highly decorated Navy Reserve captain and Air Force test pilot.

He held a senior position with the CIA until recently, according to a report from The New York Times.

According to an unsealed criminal complaint and FBI affidavit, the grift unraveled after Rush made multiple requests to his agency between November 2025 and March 2026 for a “significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars.” 

Rush claimed the payout was strictly for “work-related expenses,” but an FBI search of his home on May 18 turned up roughly 303 one-kilogram gold bars, $2 million in U.S. currency and dozens of luxury watches, many of which were Rolexes, according to court documents.

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A federal investigation revealed that despite holding a Senior Executive Service (SES) rank and Top Secret/SCI clearance, Rush routinely lied about his military background and education.

In applications for his high-level job, Rush claimed he was a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the “current director of test for a 145-person, 18-aircraft joint Army/Navy weapons test organization,” according to court documents.

However, military records show Rush was never a pilot and held no FAA licenses; his actual duties in the Navy included working as an information systems technician.

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He also allegedly faked his educational credentials to boost his federal salary, claiming he held a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, according to the filings.

Registrars from both universities confirmed to the FBI they have no record of Rush ever attending their schools.

Further, the FBI claims that Rush scammed the government out of $77,000 in fraudulent military leave, claiming 744 hours of paid time off by telling his employer he was actively serving as a Navy Reserve captain (O-6) through September 2025. 

Rush was honorably discharged a decade earlier, in February 2015, as a lieutenant (O-3), according to court documents.

He is currently being held in federal custody by the U.S. Marshals after a judge initially denied his request for release.

Rush recently waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and a magistrate judge found probable cause to move the case to a grand jury. 

The FBI and CIA did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.

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