Prosecutors say former senior CIA official David Rush used a fabricated Special Access Program to steer taxpayer money into gold bars, Florida mansions, luxury watches, and cars.
A former senior CIA official pleaded guilty after prosecutors said he turned classified access into a personal $194 million slush fund.
David J. Rush, 49, admitted to one count of wire fraud in federal court on Oct. 6. The Justice Department said Rush used a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance and invented government authorities, including a fabricated Special Access Program, to obtain $193.59 million.
Prosecutors say Rush used approximately $145 million in transferred funds to buy luxury Florida real estate, watches, and vehicles. He separately fabricated a supposed sensitive government activity to justify buying gold bars.
The FBI seized 298 gold bars, about $2.1 million in cash, foreign currency, and luxury watches from his Virginia home. The gold alone cost the government about $46 million, DOJ said. Rush agreed to forfeit the seized assets, properties, 30 watches, and two BMW Alpina vehicles.
CBS News reported that Rush routed the $145 million through a front company he controlled to purchase four Florida properties he intended to resell for profit.
NBC News reported that Rush also admitted disclosing descriptive information about a clandestine U.S. human source to a foreign official. He faces up to 20 years in prison at his Jan. 28 sentencing.