Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar, a rising Democratic lawmaker and the first Orthodox Jewish woman elected to the state legislature, has been charged in an FBI investigation alleging that she conspired with her brother and a Baltimore police officer to blackmail a former political consultant using a secretly recorded sex video.
According to court filings reviewed by The Washington Post and the Associated Press, the indictment accuses Attar, 33, of participating in a two-year plot to record and threaten the consultant in order to silence her over political and personal disputes. Prosecutors described the operation as a "calculated campaign of intimidation" that employed hidden cameras and tracking devices.
The FBI's probe, unsealed this week, alleges that the group installed concealed surveillance cameras disguised as smoke detectors in an apartment linked to Baltimore police officer Kalman Finkelstein's family, and attached a GPS tracker to the consultant's vehicle. Messages obtained by investigators show that the conspirators allegedly coordinated threats through encrypted apps.
In one exchange cited by The Washington Post, the group warned the victim, "I'll share this video with everybody you know-everyone she knows, every rabbi in town, your kids, your wife, her daughters." Federal prosecutors say the message was part of a sustained effort to prevent the woman from publicly criticizing Attar within Baltimore's tight-knit Orthodox Jewish community.
The case has rattled local political circles and shocked members of that community, where Attar had long been regarded as a symbol of progress. She previously served as a prosecutor and a delegate before joining the Maryland Senate in 2025, gaining attention for her work on housing and education reform.
Attar has denied the allegations. In a statement released through her attorney and reported by the Associated Press, she said she was "deeply disappointed by the allegations," calling them "lies by a disgruntled former employee." She and her co-defendants - her brother Joseph Attar and Officer Finkelstein - were released on bond after surrendering their passports, The Washington Post reported.
Legal analysts told the Post that the defendants face multiple charges, including extortion via interstate communications, illegal wiretapping, and conspiracy, which together could carry sentences of up to 20 years in federal prison. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and that prosecutors are weighing whether to bring additional charges.
The case has ignited debate about the misuse of surveillance and coercive technologies in political conflicts. Privacy experts told the AP that the FBI has seen a 70% increase in reports of "non-consensual image abuse" and "sextortion" in the past year, prompting calls for tougher legislation.
Community leaders in Baltimore described the scandal as "a betrayal of trust." One resident told The Baltimore Banner that the allegations had "deeply embarrassed the community and put a shadow over years of progress for women in local politics."
