ASHBURN, VA - A now-former CIA agent found in possession of approximately $40 million in gold owned by the agency is being characterized as a sort of Frank Abagnale fraudster, allegedly conning his way into the Central Intelligence Agency via “fabricating most of his resume,” according to reports.
Author Tim Weiner, who penned the book “The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century,” says that if the criminal allegations against 51-year-old David Rush turn out to be true, it would be “the most significant financial crime, measured in dollars, in the history of the CIA.” Rush was reportedly taken into custody during an FBI raid at his Ashburn home on May 18th, with agents reportedly seizing 303 gold bars, 35 luxury watches, and $2 million in cash from the residence.
Currently, Rush is only facing criminal charges over allegedly falsified timesheets totaling approximately $70,000 pertaining to compensation for military leave after he’d been discharged from the Navy back in 2015. However, prosecutors successfully argued that Rush be held without bond during a hearing earlier in June, calling the defendant a “master manipulator” who deceived friends, neighbors, and coworkers regarding his credentials and work history.
Rush had reportedly first tried to join the CIA in 2006, applying and being denied twice that year, with a third attempt in 2009 being successful. Amid Rush’s credentials presented to the agency in his applications, he claimed to have two bachelor’s degrees from Clemson University in math and information systems, a master’s in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and also claimed to have Navy Test Pilot certifications.
Per Rush’s arrest affidavit, none of his supposed credentials were true, with officials from both Clemson and Rensselaer telling the FBI they had zero record of Rush ever being enrolled at their universities and military records not supporting Rush’s claims of pilot credentials.
In 2018, Rush sought a promotion to Senior Executive Service level, again citing the same allegedly fabricated credentials while also claiming he was “the current director of test for a 145-person, 18 aircraft joint Army/Navy weapons test organization,” even though he’d left the Navy three years earlier.
Weiner, commenting on the alleged lies that Rush used to climb the agency ladder, finds the overall matter concerning, noting that agency officials “are supposed to have very sensitive bullsh*t meters,” and for Rush to have sold this alleged series of lies he’d have “needed to defraud the Pentagon and the CIA at a very high level.”
While there’s no evidence at this time that Rush was operating under some iteration of foreign influence, Weiner says this case exposes how vulnerable agencies like the CIA are to hostile countries.
“[Rush’s] ability to deceive is mind-boggling. If this guy could do it, it is evidence that the Russians and the Chinese and Iranians have a higher likelihood of success and penetration. A very patient sleeper, who succeeds in joining the CIA, wait 5, 10, 15 years until they are near the top of the totem pole,” Weiner stated.
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