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From November to March, Rush requested and received a
“significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions
of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to
an affidavit from an FBI agent investigating the case.
The affidavit says its unclear what Rush intended to use the
funds for, but that a portion of it was found in a storage space
near his office.
Federal officials searched his home on May 18 and seized more
than 300 gold bars with an estimated value of more than $40
million, according to the affidavit. They also seized roughly $2
million in U.S. currency and some 35 luxury watches, many of
them Rolexes. Rush was arrested the next day, the FBI said.
The FBI affidavit concludes that there’s probable cause to
believe that Rush “knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or
knowingly converted a thing of value of the United States” for
his personal use.
The FBI said it was working with the CIA and Department of
Justice in its investigation.
Rush's lawyer declined to comment Wednesday.
It's not clear what role Rush had at the CIA or when he left the
agency. He's described in court filings simply as a “former
senior executive service-level employee at a United States
government agency." Spokespersons for the FBI declined to
comment further, and the CIA didn’t respond to an email.
The FBI affidavit also notes that Rush appears to have lied for
years about his education and military background. The bureau's
investigation found he had falsely claimed to be a Navy pilot
and that he'd graduated from Clemson University in South
Carolina and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Instead, they found he had enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and then
served in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 2004 until 2015, when he
was honorably discharged as a lieutenant. The affidavit states
he does not appear to have underwent any evaluations as a pilot
during that time, and he did not attend either college.
Rush is being held in custody pending a hearing Friday in
federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
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