This article originally appeared onZeroHedgeand was republished with permission.

In what may be the most bizarre story of the week, if not all of 2026, theNYTimes reportsthat asenior CIA official was arrested last week after investigators found hundreds of gold bars worth over $40 million stashed in his Virginia residence,a non-fiat fortune that he apparently brought home from work, according to court papers.

The CIA official, David Rush, is being held in jail while he awaits a detention hearing in the coming days oncharges of stealing public money by filling out fraudulent time sheets.But, as the NYT admits, the charging documents filed in Alexandria, Va., still leave a lot unanswered about his recent conduct.

The only formal charge lodged against Rush is thathe inflated his academic credentials and obtained military leave pay worth tens of thousands of dollars.The authorities say he falsely claimed to be a member of the Navy Reserve when he was discharged.

In a 2009 application for a government position for which he was subsequently hired, Rush allegedly lied about obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, according to the affidavit. The investigation revealed that Rush never attended or obtained a degree from either institution, according to the affidavit.

The court papers describe Rush as a“former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency.”According to NYT sources, he until very recently held a senior position at the CIA.

In a joint statement, the CIA and FBI said the arrest occurred on May 19, after the agency alerted the bureau.

“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 statement said.

From last November to March, the court papers say,Rush asked for, and received, “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses.”

When the CIA conducted a review of where the gold and currency were stashed, the agencywas “unable to locate the gold bars or significant amounts of the foreign currency,”according to court papers.

Source: The Vigilant Fox