CIA official allegedly stole $40 million in gold bars for 'work-related expenses' after lying on resume



The FBI arrested a high-level spook last week who was sitting on a veritable treasure trove of allegedly purloined gold bars and cash, altogether worth tens of millions of dollars.

The bureau characterized David Rush in a May 20 federal court filing as a "former Senior Executive Service level employee at a United States government agency" with top secret compartmented information clearance and access to classified information. Sources familiar with the investigation spelled it out further, telling the New York Times that he was, up until recently, a senior CIA official.

'A C.I.A. internal investigation identified potential violations of the law.'

According to the affidavit, there is probable cause to believe that between 2009 and this month, David Rush "knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or knowingly converted a thing of value of the United States or received, concealed, or retained the same with intent to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been embezzled, stolen, purloined, or converted, including by obtaining a fraudulently inflated salary and fraudulently obtaining military leave, the value of which exceeded $1,000."

Rush allegedly made several requests to the federal government between November 2025 and March 2026 to obtain a boatload of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for "work-related expenses." The affidavit claims that Rush successfully obtained the gold and cash.

A review of the storage space at the government site where Rush had an office turned up only some of the riches the spy had acquired, according to the affidavit. The government apparently was unable to locate the remainder of the cash and bullion or any record of Rush "providing information to his employer regarding the disposition of the currency or gold bars."

The mystery of the missing treasure was apparently solved on May 18, when the FBI raided Rush's home in the Eastern District of Virginia.

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CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Federal agents reportedly seized roughly 303 gold bars, each weighing a kilogram. At the time of writing, a kilo of gold was valued at around $144,900 — meaning that Rush was allegedly sitting on over $43 million in gold alone. Agents also reportedly seized roughly $2 million in U.S. currency and 35 luxury watches, many of which were Rolexes.

Besides allegedly purloining a galleon-load of treasure, Rush has been accused of lying about his credentials and fudging military leave information on his official time sheet.

Citing findings in the FBI's investigation, the affidavit claims that Rush submitted multiple applications for government jobs "containing false information about his education background and work with the United States military." Contrary to his statements, Rush allegedly never attended Clemson University or the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; wasn't a pilot for the Navy; and does not have a Federal Aviation Administration certificate or pilot's license.

"After a C.I.A. internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the F.B.I. for a law enforcement investigation," the CIA and FBI said in a joint statement.

The FBI arrested Rush on May 19.

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Just How Dumb Is This Thief?
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Just How Dumb Is This Thief?

Video: British thief's 'Indiana Jones-style slide' to get past closing shutters fails. Stuck, he drinks to his misfortune.



On at least two occasions in the "Indiana Jones" franchise, the titular hero narrowly avoids certain death and entombment in accursed subterranean locations by slipping through fast-closing gateways, sure never to lose his iconic fedora in the process.
Confronted with the prospect of idling inside a convenience store until police arrived, a thief in Northeast England risked potential decapitation in a similar fashion last month; however, unlike the fictional Dr. Jones, Malcolm Trimble of Durham City was not nearly as fast as he needed to be.

According to the Durham Constabulary, Trimble, 30, walked into a Durham City store with a large kitchen knife stowed up his sleeve.

Surveillance footage of the incident shows a man wearing a hooded jacket and mask carrying a four-pack of lager over to the counter, then brandishing the knife. Police indicated Trimble threatened the shopkeeper with the blade.

The shopkeeper wasn't about to die over lager, but he also wasn't going to be taken advantage of. He triggered the system to lower the shop's metal roller shutters and raced outside. Once clear of the store, the shopkeeper held the door shut, containing the thief until police could deal with him.

As the heavy metal shutters descended, sealing all portals to the outside, Trimble struggled against the shopkeeper to open the door. The shopkeeper managed to bar the thief's exit long enough for the shutters to descend to within just a few feet of the ground.

Although Trimble finally got the door open, his escape was anything but assured. He dropped his beer on the threshold, then attempted what police later referred to as an "Indiana Jones-style slide" under the closing shutters. His feet, legs and lower torso made it outside, but the thief's upper half was left behind along with the beer.

The Durham Constabulary noted that while the pinned-down thief attempted to wriggle free, the shopkeeper called police, who promptly rushed to the shop.

In the three minutes it took for officers to arrive on scene, Trimble managed to crack open a cold lager and toast his failure.

Durham Constabulary

Trimble was reportedly sentenced to three years and four months in jail for attempted robbery and possession of a knife.

Detective Sergeant Paul Mawson of Durham Constabulary said, "It wasn’t the most difficult arrest we have ever made. To be honest, it was an open-and-shut case."

Durham shopkeeper traps KNIFEPOINT ROBBER under roller shutter until police arrive | Caught on CCTV youtu.be

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Biden's ex-nuclear waste chief avoids jail time for stealing woman's luggage



Ex-Biden energy official Samuel Brinton pleaded "no contest" to misdemeanor theft Wednesday and agreed to pay one of his victims $3,670 in restitution.

Samuel Brinton is a nuclear engineer who served as deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy.

A now-protected page on the Biden Energy Department's website previously indicated that Brinton identifies "as gender-fluid and use[s] the pronouns they, them, and theirs."

Brinton was originally charged with grand larceny with a value between $1,200 and $5,000, having stolen a woman's luggage at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 6, 2022.

The luggage, a hard shell suitcase valued at $320, reportedly contained the victim's makeup, jewelry, contact lenses, and clothing.

A surveillance camera caught the former Biden official in the act, reported KLAS-TV.

According to the warrant, "Brinton pulled the victim’s luggage from the carousel and examined the tag. Then placed it back on the carousel, looking in all directions for anyone who might be watching or might approach. Pulling it back off the carousel and demonstrating the same behavior by looking around before walking away with it quickly."

Police were reportedly unable to ascertain the identity of their suspect until the Biden official made the news for admittedly stealing another woman's expensive luggage at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Sept. 16.

Investigators were able to match Brinton's clothing worn at the scene of the Las Vegas crime to apparel he donned in photographs on his Instagram.

He was arrested on Dec. 8 and fired shortly thereafter.

Although Brinton was originally charged with a felony, it was knocked down to a misdemeanor charge as part of his plea deal.

KVVU-TV reported that the Biden official also dodged a prison sentence, receiving instead a 180-day suspended jail term.

While Brinton will skate with only the financial penalty and a requirement for good behavior, he still faces charges pertaining to his alleged theft of another woman's belongings in Minneapolis.

TheBlaze previously reported that Brinton admitted to taking a woman's Vera Bradley luggage, valued at around $2,325, from a baggage claim carousel at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in September.
While he initially denied taking the woman's belongings, he later claimed he had done so accidentally.

According to the criminal complaint, footage shows Brinton taking "a navy blue hard-sided roller bag" from the carousel.

Although supposedly exhausted, Brinton then "removed the blue bag's tag and put the bag tag in the handbag they were carrying" and "left the area at a quick pace."

Investigators reportedly indicated that Brinton was also seen using the woman's suitcase on at least two other occasions.

Asya Khamsin, a Houston-based fashion designer from Tanzania, claims she is also a victim of Brinton's.

Khamsin told Fox News Digital that her luggage had been stolen on March 9, 2018, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. She later saw what she believes to have been her stolen, distinctive clothing being worn by the Biden official.

\u201cMy name is Asyakhamsin tanzanian fashion designer based in houston Texas USA \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 I lost my bag 2018 in DCA recently I heard the news on @FoxNews about @sambrinton luggage issue surprisingly I found his images wore my custom made outfitswhich was in the lost bag on 2018 \ud83e\udd79\u201d
— asyakhamsin (@asyakhamsin) 1676871102

The New York Post indicated that Brinton has not been charged in the case of Khamsin's stolen clothing.

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'THIEF': Biden accused of stealing aid from Afghans



Citizens of Afghanistan are accusing U.S. President Joe Biden of stealing funds from the Afghan people.

Friday, Biden signed an executive order reallocating funds that the people of Afghanistan say belong to Afghans, not the Taliban. The move comes six months after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.

According to reports, financial adviser Torek Farhadi explained, "These reserves belong to the people of Afghanistan, not the Taliban. Biden's decision is one-sided and does not match with international law. No other country on Earth makes such confiscation decisions about another country's reserves."

Biden's order is reported to divide $7 billion equally between the people of Afghanistan and American victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Many are calling Biden a thief because of his executive order. Read the full story here.

The White House made a statement on Tuesday addressing the matter.