Ex-CIA officer accused of stealing gold bars reaches tentative plea deal
Former CIA employee David Rush, accused of stealing more than 300 gold bars and foreign currency from the agency, has reached a tentative plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Both sides asked for extra time to finalize the deal before a formal indictment.
Federal prosecutors have reached a tentative plea agreement with David Rush, a former CIA employee accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40m from the agency and hiding them in his home basement.
According to a court filing made Friday, Rush and government attorneys have reached a "plea agreement in principle." The parties asked a judge to push back the original 17 September deadline by three weeks to 8 October, giving them time to prepare paperwork, including an agreed statement of facts, and resolve the case before an indictment is filed. Assistant US attorney Raizza Ty and Rush's attorney, Jessica Carmichael, said in the joint filing that a pre-indictment resolution would save government and judicial resources. No further details about the terms of the agreement were disclosed.
Details of the case
Rush, who held an executive service-level position at the CIA, was fired after he allegedly took 303 gold bullion bars — each weighing 2.2lb (1kg) — along with more than $2m in foreign currency from his government office. An FBI search of his home in Virginia also uncovered 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolex.
He was arrested on 19 May and charged with stealing public money, after allegedly falsifying his educational background and military service to obtain his CIA position. Rush is also accused of submitting fraudulent timecards to collect roughly $77,000 in compensation for military leave he was not entitled to. Investigators later found he had set up a fake classified program through which he requested the gold bars and foreign currency as purported work-related expenses, and had repeatedly lied about his academic and military credentials, including a false claim of having been a navy pilot.
Rush has remained in custody since his arrest, having been deemed a flight risk. He spent 17 years at the CIA, most recently in its science and technology division, though the agency has not disclosed the exact nature of his role.
