A former senior CIA official pleaded guilty on Tuesday to wire fraud in a scheme that cost the US government about $194 million. David J. Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, entered the plea in federal court. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for January 28.

Rush fabricated a highly classified government program to justify buying luxury property in south Florida. He separately invented a bogus sensitive government activity to obtain 298 gold bars worth over $40 million. Federal agents found the gold stockpiled at his Virginia home when he was arrested in May.

Prosecutors say Rush lied about his military and academic credentials to gain top-secret clearance. He also admitted giving a foreign official information about a secret US source. The Justice Department said the fraud funded luxury homes, watches, cars and $1.8 million in private flights. The intelligence community’s inspector general will probe how Rush deceived the agency for so long.