Jessica Aber, the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was found deceased early Shabbos morning. She had overseen some of the most significant cases involving CIA leaks and fraud committed by Russian nationals in the U.S.
Authorities are currently looking into the circumstances surrounding Aber’s death, as the 43-year-old was discovered unresponsive at her home by officers from the Alexandria Police Department just before 9:20 a.m. on Saturday.
Before stepping down in January following the inauguration of President Trump, Aber, who was appointed by President Biden, had achieved one of her notable legal victories. This came when Asif Rahman, a former CIA analyst, pleaded guilty to leaking classified information regarding Israel’s plans to strike Iran last year.
The case gained widespread attention when Rahman posted documents related to Israel’s planned attack on Telegram, forcing Israel to delay its response against Tehran.
Aber strongly criticized Rahman’s actions, calling them “a violation of his oath, his responsibility, and the law,” emphasizing that the leak “placed lives at risk, undermined U.S. foreign relations, and compromised our ability to collect vital intelligence in the future.”
In addition to her work on the leak case, Aber led the prosecution against Eleview International Inc., a Virginia-based company whose executives were accused of running three separate operations to illegally export sensitive American technology to Russia, as per the Department of Justice.
Two of the company’s senior figures, Oleg Nayandin, 54, and Vitaliy Borisenko, 39, were charged in November with illegally exporting over $6 million worth of goods, including telecommunications equipment, to Russia via Turkey, Finland, and Kazakhstan to circumvent U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
This case followed just two months after Aber secured indictments against two Russian nationals, Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov, who were allegedly involved in one of the largest online money laundering schemes that supported cybercrime networks and ransomware groups. These individuals were also connected to some of the biggest data breaches targeting U.S. financial infrastructure, as reported by the Secret Service.
In addition to handling fraud and leak cases, Aber was also involved in a groundbreaking indictment by the DOJ against four Russian soldiers accused of war crimes against an American citizen living in Ukraine.
The victim, whose identity has not been revealed, was reportedly abducted from his home in the Kherson region and subjected to brutal treatment, including beating, torture, and a mock execution, as per the DOJ’s report.
The defendants were named as high-ranking officers Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, and Dmitry Budnik, along with two lower-ranking soldiers identified only as Valerii and Nazar.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of the Justice Department’s effort to hold perpetrators of war crimes violations accountable in Ukraine and will continue to pursue them,” Aber stated at the time.
A Virginia native, Aber graduated from the University of Richmond in 2003 and received her law degree from William & Mary Law School in 2006.
Before becoming U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, she had worked as an assistant U.S. attorney since 2009. From 2015 to 2016, she served as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
Aber often spoke of her commitment to restoring public trust in law enforcement. She shared that during her time in office, she logged over 50,000 miles in her Hyundai, driving across Virginia to meet with local residents, a detail she shared with the Washington Post in January.
In one of her final posts on LinkedIn, Aber shared a photo from a 2024 U.S. attorneys’ conference, which was signed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland. She wrote, “It was lovely, though, to receive this surprise in the mail. Good memories.”
The current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia expressed his sorrow at Aber’s unexpected death in a statement released Saturday afternoon.
“We are heartbroken beyond words to learn of the passing of our friend and former colleague, U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber. She was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being,” said U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert in his statement.
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi also expressed her condolences, saying, “The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time.”
{Matzav.com}

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