Former CIA official David J. Rush pleaded guilty to wire fraud after using his government position to obtain more than $40 million worth of gold bars and fund luxury real estate purchases. 

Prosecutors say Rush fabricated a highly classified government program and a bogus sensitive operation to justify obtaining gold and other government resources for his personal benefit.

His scheme allegedly caused about $194 million in losses to the federal government, including more than $1.8 million in private chartered flights and an attempted transfer of roughly $145 million to a company he controlled. 

Investigators searching his Virginia home found about 300 gold bars, $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, while Rush also admitted providing a foreign official with information about a secret U.S. government source, NPR has reported.

Rush, 49, faces up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in January, after also being accused of falsifying his military and educational credentials.