The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on May 19 arrested a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official and recovered 303 gold bars worth more than $40 million from his Virginia home. Court filings show the agency had no record explaining why the assets were missing.

David J. Rush, a Senior Executive Service (SES)-level employee with a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance, has been charged with one count of theft of public money in the Eastern District of Virginia. Agents also seized $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolex, during the May 18 search of his Ashburn, Virginia home.

“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” the CIA and FBI said in a joint statement.

Between November 2025 and March 2026, Rush made multiple requests for “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to the FBI affidavit. A CIA review found the gold and currency largely unaccounted for in his storage space, with no record of Rush explaining why.

Rush’s credential fraud predated the gold scheme. His 2009 CIA application falsely listed degrees from Clemson University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Registrars at both schools told the FBI he never enrolled. He also told the CIA he served as a Navy Reserve captain and Air Force test pilot.

Military records show he was honorably discharged as a Navy lieutenant in February 2015 without a pilot’s license. The FBI says he collected $77,000 in fraudulent compensation by logging 744 hours of false military leave on his timesheets.

Rush remains in federal custody, with a detention hearing scheduled for June 5 in Alexandria, Virginia. A source familiar with the case said most of the assets have been recovered.