Ex-CIA official pleads guilty to nearly $200 million government fraud scheme

A former CIA official pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud in a scheme that used fictitious classified programs to finance purchases of Florida real estate and gold with nearly $200 million in government money, CBS News reported.

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David Rush entered the plea in federal court in Virginia and faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

His plea agreement provides for the forfeiture of at least $194 million. Assets listed include four Florida homes, 298 gold bars, 35 luxury watches and two BMWs, according to the report.

Court documents cited by CBS describe how Rush invoked classified government activities to authorize spending, direct contractors and gain control of the assets they acquired.

Prosecutors said the property and gold purchases were parts of a single fraud scheme, despite involving different intermediaries and transactions.

About $145 million was routed through companies to purchase properties in Palm Beach and Hobe Sound, Florida, which Rush intended to sell for profit, according to the filings.

To arrange the gold purchases, he told contractors that a top-secret project required deliveries of valuable commodities to unidentified recipients. A contractor’s $45 million transfer to a holding company in January formed the basis of the wire fraud charge.

'Master manipulator'

The investigation began with a CIA referral to the FBI, the two agencies previously said.

Prosecutors said Rush could access “highly sensitive and classified government programs,” although the charging document did not identify his employer. An earlier affidavit described him as a former employee at the Senior Executive Service level at a government agency in eastern Virginia.

Rush was arrested in May.

During a search of his home, FBI agents seized gold bars valued at about $40 million, along with luxury watches and $2 million in cash. Prosecutors said roughly $38.6 million was still in a holding company’s account.

A federal judge ordered him to remain in custody in June, citing a severe risk that he would flee.

Justice Department lawyers called him a "master manipulator" at the detention hearing, saying he "cannot be trusted" and was "fully willing and able to skirt the rules."