Feds seize $40M gold hoard from ex-CIA agent's house in Virginia

An ex-government official with top security clearance has been arrested after federal agents found hundreds of gold bars in his Virginia home worth at least $40 million, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY.

David Rush, who is facing a charge of theft of public money, was arrested last week and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing next week. His attorney declined USA TODAY's request for comment on May 27.

During a search of Rush's Virginia home last week, FBI agents found 303 gold bars that each weighed about 2.2 pounds and are estimated to be worth more than $40 million, Special Agent Matthew Johnson of the FBI wrote in an affidavit outlining the case against Rush.

The documents identify Rush as a "former senior executive service level employee at a United States Government agency" who has top secret clearance and access to classified information. The New York Times is reporting that Rush worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.

The FBI seized the gold bars from Rush's home, as well as about $2 million in cash and 35 Rolexes and other luxury watches, Johnson wrote. But the current charge that Rush faces isn't related to the gold or money seized at his home.

Here's what we know about the case.

Why were authorities investigating David Rush?

Between November 2025 and March of this year, Rush asked for − and received − "a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses," the affidavit in his case says.

A review of the government storage space where Rush was supposed to be storing the bars and money showed that most of it was missing, the affidavit says.

The records don't say why Rush would have needed so much gold and cash for work.

During the course of the investigation, the affidavit says that the FBI learned that Rush lied about his academic credentials for his government jobs and fraudulently took $77,000 in military leave after lying about being an active member of the Navy Reserve, the affidavit says.

Rush had been in the Navy but was honorably discharged in 2015, the affidavit says. Rush claimed to be in the Navy Reserves for another 10 years through 2025, it says.

What does the CIA say about the case?

The CIA's media relations office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY late Wednesday.

In a joint statement to the New York Times, the CIA and the FBI said that an internal CIA investigation "identified possible violations of the law" so CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation."