A retired Big Apple financier who worked for years at George Soros’ investment firm allegedly “tortured” former Playboy models and other women in a Midtown penthouse-turned-BDSM “sex dungeon” for about a decade, federal prosecutors said.
Howard Rubin, 70, was busted by the feds at his Fairfield, Conn., home Friday morning on sex-trafficking charges for allegedly luring “dozens” of women to New York City between 2009 and 2019 — where he restrained, beat and electrocuted them, the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office said.
The famed former money manager – known as “Howie” or “H” and worth at least tens of millions of dollars – even appeared to revel in the stomach-turning encounters in text messages with his personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, who is also facing sex-trafficking charges tied to the scheme.
“As alleged, the defendants used Rubin’s wealth to mislead and recruit women to engage in commercial sex acts, where Rubin then tortured women beyond their consent, causing lasting physical and/or psychological pain, in some cases physical injuries,” Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement.
Rubin — a dad of three and successful ex-Wall Street financier with a 30-year career — allegedly abused the women in swanky city hotels and a luxury penthouse near Central Park that he leased for $18,000 a month between 2011 and 2017, court papers state.
One of the West 57th Street penthouse bedrooms was soundproofed and painted red — nicknamed “The Dungeon” — and had a device that was used to shock or electrocute the women, the feds said.
The room also had a cross and bed with restraints where the women would be bound and gagged, according to the authorities.
Ten alleged victims were named as “Jane Does” in the 10-count indictment, but prosecutors said Rubin also recruited “dozens” more women for his alleged sexually deviant scheme.
Many of the women targeted were former Playboy models, the feds said in a letter urging Rubin to be detained.
Rubin — a portfolio manager at the billionaire investor’s namesake Soros Fund Management between 2008 and 2015 — was ordered held without bail Friday evening at a hearing in Brooklyn federal court where he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors argued Rubin was a flight risk because of the stiff prison sentence he could face and the incredible resources – including $74.4 million in the Cayman Islands – at his disposal.
The fallen former financier, who wore a blue windbreaker, blue jeans and black glasses, sat calmly with his hands clasped in front of him as prosecutors also described him as a danger to the public.
The feds said he hid behind his wealth for decades as he allegedly carried out the sickening abuse — even sending giddy texts to his longtime personal assistant about his love of hurting women.
In one of several horrifying exchanges detailed in court papers, Rubin and Powers allegedly discussed electrocuting a tied-up woman’s genitals.
“I don’t care if she screams,” he wrote, along with the laughing face emoji, in another sickening message, the feds said.
The alleged victims were typically vulnerable or in desperate need of money, and were given drugs or alcohol, including Valium, that got them inebriated for the encounters, prosecutors said.
While some of the women agreed to a safe word with Rubin they could use when the sex was getting too rough, he allegedly ignored their pleas.
Others were gagged so they couldn’t object and he would even continue if the women passed out, prosecutors alleged.
Rubin also had a stash of non-disclosure agreements that included a risk of injury disclaimer he kept in a safe that he forced the women to sign, the feds charged.
Powers, 45, who started working for Rubin in 2011, was allegedly instrumental in finding the women – mostly through social media – and flying them into New York.
After the sexual encounters, Rubin or Powers allegedly paid the victims through a wire transfer or PayPal and Venmo. Typically, the women would receive $5,000 per encounter, but if he was left unsatisfied, he doled out several thousand dollars less, according to the feds.
At times, he staggered payments to avoid sending $10,000 in a single shot, allowing him to remain under the radar, the indictment alleges.
Overall, it’s estimated at least $1 million of Rubin’s money was spent on the alleged sex trafficking.
The former well-heeled Manhattan philanthropist’s alleged dirty deeds first came to light in lawsuits nearly a decade ago.
Rubin’s longtime wife, Mary J. Henry, filed for divorce from him in 2021 after he was accused of sexual abuse in the suits.
He was taken to civil court in 2017 by three Florida women — two described in court docs as Playboy Playmates Mia Lytell and Amy Moore, and a third, Stephanie Caldwell, said to be a model and a dancer — who accused him of violent sexual assaults.
It’s unclear what prompted the feds to move forward with the criminal case now.
Rubin and Powers — who was arrested Friday in Texas and is expected to be extradited to New York at a later date — are now charged with sex trafficking and transporting women in interstate commerce for sex acts.
Rubin was also hit with a federal bank fraud charge for allegedly offering misrepresentations made to a bank while financing Powers’ mortgage for a house in Texas she shared with her husband.
Both face at least 15 years behind bars if convicted of sex trafficking.
Prosecutors detailed a slew of horrifying claims against Rubin, a Harvard MBA whose financial exploits were featured in well-known books “Liar’s Poker” and “The Big Short.”
In another disturbing incident, Rubin, before a planned sex session with two women, told one of them that he wanted to “abuse” the other for hours, the feds alleged.
At one point, he was so violent with that woman that her breast implant flipped, and when she complained to Rubin, he sent her tens of thousands of dollars to fix it, the indictment alleges.
Other allegations against Rubin — who also did stints at financial firms Salomon Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns — include:
- Telling Powers he restrained a woman to a cross, with the assistant replying, “I can only imagine what you did to her on that cross!!! Did you shock her p—y??” He replied he did, but complained his electrocution device was “losing strength.”
- Describing his shocking activity on his work email at a Manhattan financial institute he worked at.
- Trying to convince another alleged victim that rape was natural and referenced Disney movies like “Beauty and the Beast.”
- Telling one alleged victim that he contacted a hitman on the dark web to target women suing him, but he ended up not retaining the hired killer.
In depositions tied to the 2017 civil case, Rubin and Powers allegedly admitted to transporting women for prostitution, according to authorities.
Rubin lost the case in 2022 when a jury awarded the by then-six plaintiffs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The women each clinched between $620,000 and $750,000.
The judge granted the plaintiff’s request for Rubin to pay all their legal fees — at a cost of a cool $4.8 million — this February.
He appealed both decisions, which are pending, but was forced to post bonds for nearly $10 million while those cases play out.
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Rubin’s criminal defense lawyer, at his arraignment, unsuccessfully pushed for a $25 million bond, noting he’s a dad of three and grandfather of three.
His legal team argued that even though Rubin and his wife were broken up, the two were still amicable — and offered up the $8 million Yorkville apartment she lives in as collateral.
Prosecutors also said they were seeking a significant bond for Powers, whose life is essentially funded solely by Rubin.
The tycoon funds Powers and her husband’s mortgage, groceries, trips and even iTunes account, the feds said. The husband is a DJ who reported to the IRS he made only $40,000 in both 2018 and 2019, and nothing since, according to court docs.
The Post has sought comment from Powers’ lawyer.
— Additional reporting by Erin Maher and Desheania Andrews
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