CIA officer admits to creating fake top secret government program to steal over $190M, including gold bars

A now-former officer with the Central Intelligence Agency has pleaded guilty to stealing almost $200 million, including hundreds of gold bars, as part of a fraudulent scheme masquerading as a top secret government program.

一位现已离职的中央情报局（CIA）官员已认罪，承认通过伪装成绝密政府项目的欺诈计划，窃取了近2亿美元，其中包括数百根金条。

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday confirmed that David J. Rush, a Virginia resident, admitted to one count of wire fraud linked to running the fabricated operation and defrauding the government while he was a CIA officer.

美国司法部周二证实，弗吉尼亚州居民大卫·J·拉什（David J. Rush）承认了一项电信欺诈罪，该罪名与他在担任中情局官员期间运营虚假项目并欺诈政府有关。

In a statement, prosecutors said that Rush lied about his education and military experience to gain a position at the CIA, and used his access as an employee to set up the top secret and highly compartmentalized program with the intention of using it to funnel U.S. government funds into his possession.

检察官在一份声明中表示，拉什通过谎报学历和军事经历获得了中情局的职位，并利用其员工权限设立了一个高度机密且高度隔离的项目，意图借此将美国政府资金据为己有。

During his arrest, law enforcement found more than $46 million worth of gold bars in Rush’s house linked to the long-running fraud scheme, along with cars, watches, and over $2 million in cash.

在逮捕过程中，执法人员在拉什家中发现了价值超过4600万美元的金条，这些金条与该长期欺诈计划有关，此外还有汽车、手表和超过200万美元的现金。

The plea deal means that Rush escapes trial, as much as the U.S. government likely avoids having to explain in open court how Rush evaded vetting scrutiny to join the U.S. intelligence agency, and how actions went undetected for more than a year.

这项认罪协议意味着拉什免于受审，同时也让美国政府避免在公开法庭上解释拉什是如何逃过审查加入美国情报机构的，以及他的行为是如何在一年多的时间里未被察觉的。

Rush was until recently a senior CIA officer who, according to earlier reports, worked for a division of the CIA since 2010 that develops hacking tools and techniques for carrying out espionage.

拉什直到最近还是中情局的一名高级官员。据早前报道，他自2010年起就在中情局的一个部门工作，该部门负责开发用于执行间谍活动的黑客工具和技术。

Per court filings, Rush had significant authority over government intelligence programs and spending. Over the course of 2025, Rush used his position to fabricate a so-called special access program, which are surveillance or intelligence-gathering operations so sensitive that only a few people are read into them.

根据法庭文件，拉什对政府情报项目和支出拥有重大权力。在2025年期间，拉什利用其职务之便编造了一个所谓的“特殊访问项目”（SAP），这类监视或情报收集行动极其敏感，只有极少数人知晓。

Special access programs, or SAPs, require special clearance that not even the most cleared individuals in government are granted access to. According to The Washington Post, Rush constructed the compartmentalized program under the guise of a fake “continuity of government” plan, aimed at keeping the government functioning in the event of a war, natural disaster, or some other destructive catastrophe.

特殊访问项目（SAP）需要特殊的许可，即使是政府中拥有最高安全级别的人员也未必能获得访问权限。据《华盛顿邮报》报道，拉什以虚假的“政府连续性”计划为幌子构建了该隔离项目，该计划旨在确保政府在战争、自然灾害或其他破坏性灾难发生时能够继续运作。

As part of the scheme, Rush used the program and fake government contract to trick an unnamed defense contractor into buying large amounts of gold that Rush then pocketed.

作为该计划的一部分，拉什利用该项目和伪造的政府合同，诱骗一家未具名的国防承包商购买了大量黄金，随后将其据为己有。

According to The Post, the case astounded officials as Rush’s duties at the CIA involved work with one of the government’s “most sensitive intelligence-gathering programs,” with details so sensitive that only a few senior U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers know of its existence.

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，此案令官员们感到震惊，因为拉什在中情局的职责涉及政府“最敏感的情报收集项目”之一，其细节极其敏感，只有少数美国高级情报官员和立法者知道其存在。

The Post withheld details of that program from publication as its disclosure could “jeopardize ongoing intelligence-gathering operations.” Court filings said that by virtue of his position, Rush “effectively acted as his own approving official, enabling him to expend substantial amounts of United States government money without meaningful scrutiny.”

《华盛顿邮报》未公布该项目的细节，因为披露这些信息可能会“危及正在进行的情报收集行动”。法庭文件称，凭借其职位，拉什“实际上充当了自己的审批官员，使他能够在没有实质性审查的情况下支出大量美国政府资金”。

Rush is scheduled to be sentenced in late January 2027 and faces up to 20 years in prison.

拉什定于2027年1月底被判刑，最高可面临20年监禁。