A former CIA officer accused of hiding hundreds of gold bars at home has admitted to defrauding the US government in a sprawling $200m scheme.
The scheme involved fake contracts and luxury property.
David Rush, 49, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and agreed to surrender luxury homes, cars, watches, cash and other assets.
But the case goes beyond money. Prosecutors say he also revealed details about a secret human source to an unauthorised foreign official.
Potentially putting lives and US intelligence operations at risk. So how did the alleged scheme work?
Investigators say Rush invented a highly classified programme to justify obtaining tens of millions of dollars in gold and foreign currency.
He then used government funds to buy South Florida properties, even spending $40,000 on kitchen appliances for one.
Stolen Wealth Seized
At his home, authorities found 298 gold bars, $2m in cash and 35 luxury watches.
Nearly $39m was also seized from his bank account.
Prosecutors said Rush moved money into easily traded assets, suggesting he was trying to conceal it.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Rush had “abused his position and betrayed the public trust”.
Rush faces up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for January.
But perhaps the bigger question is this: how did someone with top-secret clearance manage to turn trust into such a massive personal payday?
