A former senior CIA official admitted Tuesday that he used imaginary classified authorizations to drain nearly $194 million from the federal government, turning the money into gold bars, Florida real estate, Rolexes and six-figure BMWs.
David J. Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, entered his plea in Alexandria federal court, where the wire fraud case put his senior executive-level government job and Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance at the center of a sprawling scam.
Prosecutors calculated the fraud at approximately $193.6 million. To hide the spending, Rush created bogus federal approvals, including a fabricated Special Access Program, so purchases for himself could pass as secret government work, court documents said.
Roughly $145 million moved through wires under Rush’s direction before the money was used for luxury real estate, four homes in Florida, watches and at least one car, prosecutors said.
Another made-up government need sent taxpayer money into gold. During a May 19 search of Rush’s Virginia residence, FBI agents found 298 gold bars that prosecutors valued at about $46 million in government funds.
The haul also included approximately $2.1 million in cash, €104,795 and numerous luxury watches.
Under the plea agreement, Rush must give up the gold, cash, euros, properties bought with fraud proceeds, 30 watches and two 2026 BMW Alpina vehicles. Many of the watches are Rolexes, and at least one BMW is valued at about $172,000.
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Rush’s rise through government also rested on false credentials, prosecutors said. Court documents say he claimed degrees from Clemson University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute despite never attending either school. He also padded his military background, including with a claim that he had been a pilot.
The plea agreement carried another alarming admission beyond the money trail. Rush acknowledged that in late 2025, he revealed the existence of a U.S. government clandestine human source, along with certain identifying details, to a foreign government official who was not cleared to receive the information.
Prosecutors said that disclosure could have put the source and U.S. personnel connected to the source at risk, while also harming the government’s ability to recruit future human sources.
Officials have not named the foreign government. The CIA first uncovered signs of possible criminal activity during an internal review, then referred the matter to the FBI. NBC News reported that Rush was later fired.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe framed the case as a breach of the trust placed in people with access to the nation’s secrets.
“David Rush abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions,” Ratcliffe stated. “We appreciate our law enforcement partners in the FBI and Department of Justice for securing this outcome. The Agency is committed to ensuring that those entrusted with our Nation’s secrets are held to the absolute highest standard.”
Rush’s case is now prompting a closer look at how he reached a senior post and gained access to sensitive programs while allegedly misrepresenting his background.
The Director of National Intelligence has asked the Intelligence Community Inspector General to investigate, and the Justice Department’s inquiry remains active.
Rush is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 28, 2027. The wire fraud count carries up to 20 years in prison, plus supervised release, restitution, forfeiture and a fine. A federal judge will decide the sentence after weighing federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Rush’s guilty plea came as two other intelligence-related criminal cases put alleged spy activity and classified information under scrutiny.
At Los Angeles International Airport earlier this month, federal agents arrested Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, before she boarded a Shanghai-bound flight.
Zhang, an Irvine-based licensed California real estate agent, is accused of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Authorities say she and an unidentified accomplice traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to collect images of the suburban home of a top Taiwanese official’s family.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that the target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai.
The criminal complaint placed Zhang and a man identified only as “Individual 1” on a Sept. 1, 2025 trip from Las Vegas to Seattle, where they rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to Ting-Yu’s home.
Neighbor security camera images included in the complaint allegedly captured the pair “appearing to film” Ting-Yu, his wife and their child as the family arrived home.
Zhang then allegedly messaged her Chinese government handler, “Saw him. Young male. It’s the young one” and “I am video recording,” followed by two license plate numbers.
Investigators found the messages through a warrant for Zhang’s iCloud account, the complaint said.
The filing also said Zhang appeared to acknowledge contact with at least two people she understood to work for the People’s Republic of China government.
In Germany, authorities arrested a former intelligence chief Tuesday in another case involving secret material.
August Hanning, who led Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, from 1998 to 2005, is suspected of espionage and attempted treason after prosecutors accused him of using confidential material in private consulting work.
The Associated Press reported that the material allegedly came from a former aide.
The Washington Post, citing German prosecutors, reported that Hanning tried to sell information from the documents to at least one foreign power.
German officials also arrested the former aide, identified only as Manfred D., who allegedly provided classified information for payment.
Federal prosecutors said Manfred D. gave Hanning about 2,000 documents, including internal executive briefings, and that Hanning used the material in consulting work and at least once to prepare an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service.
Current BND President Martin Jäger said the agency opened internal investigations once the suspicions came to light.
“There can be no compromises on internal security,” Jäger declared.
