A former senior CIA official who confessed to inventing a fake “highly classified” government operation to fund Florida real estate purchases and acquire hundreds of gold bars also disclosed US intelligence to a foreign official.
David J. Rush created the fictional operation as cover for buying luxury properties in Florida, which he planned to sell for his own financial gain, according to court records.
In a plea document, Rush acknowledged providing “certain descriptive information” to a foreign official. Prosecutors said the disclosure could “endanger the safety and life of the human source and the US government officers working with the source.”
The disclosure could also undermine the US government’s ability to recruit human intelligence sources, who depend on official promises that their identities and cooperation will remain absolutely confidential.
In a separate scheme, Rush allegedly invented a sham “sensitive government activity” to explain how he obtained the gold bars, court filings state.
The Justice Department estimates that Rush’s alleged fraud caused approximately $194 million in losses to the federal government.
Prosecutors further allege that Rush misrepresented his military and educational background to colleagues and government contractors. He also presented his fictional program as a legitimate operation approved by senior US officials.
“Rush used his legitimate government authority and manufactured personal bona fides to create confidence in his directions,” prosecutors wrote in the court filing.
David J. Rush (pictured) allegedly invented a “highly classified” government operation to support the purchase of luxury properties in south Florida, which he intended to resell for personal profit, according to a court filing.
Gold bars and cash were seized from the Virginia home of David Rush, the former CIA official who pleaded guilty to fraud.
Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to a single wire fraud charge. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to court records.
US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff is expected to sentence Rush on January 28 in Alexandria, Virginia.
According to a court filing submitted Tuesday, Rush had attempted several months earlier to authorize the fraudulent release of $100 million connected to a government contract.
He then instructed another person to move approximately $145 million into a holding company established at his direction. The money was allegedly used to purchase four luxury properties in Palm Beach and Hobe Sound, Florida.
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Earlier filings from prosecutors alleged that Rush kept more than $40 million worth of gold bars, acquired from the federal government, inside his Virginia residence.
Authorities also accused him of improperly collecting tens of thousands of dollars in military-leave payments after being honorably discharged 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 roughly 35 luxury watches.
Following his initial 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, about $2 million in US currency and approximately 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, was able to create and promote a fictional operation without 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.