A retired Big Apple financier with past ties to George Soros allegedly “tortured” former Playboy models and other women in a Midtown penthouse-turned-soundproofed BDSM “sex dungeon” for years, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Howard Rubin, 70, was arrested by federal authorities at his home in Fairfield, Ct., Friday morning on charges he sex-trafficked at least 10 women between 2009 and 2019, luring them to swanky New York City hotels and the leased luxury pad near Central Park — where he restrained, beat and electrically shocked them, the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office charged.
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.
Retired NYC financier Howard Rubin “tortured women beyond their consent” in his twisted penthouse sex dungeon, according to prosecutors. Sylvain Gaboury/PMC
Rubin’s longtime wife, Mary J. Henry, filed for divorce from him in 2021 after the bombshell allegations surfaced. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
“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.
One of the West 57th Street penthouse bedrooms was soundproofed and painted red, 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.
In one horrifying exchange, Rubin allegedly texted Powers that he tied a woman to the cross, with the assistant replying, “I can only imagine what you did to her on that cross!!! Did you shock her p—y??,” the feds said.
Rubin allegedly replied he did, but complained that his electrocution device was “losing strength.”
While some of the women agreed to a safe word that they could use with Rubin 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 a woman passed out, prosecutors alleged.
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.
Billionaire George Soros in January 2020. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“I don’t care if she screams,” he wrote, along with the laughing face emoji, the feds said.
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.
He tried to convince another alleged victim that rape was natural and referenced Disney movies like “Beauty and the Beast,” the feds claimed.
Rubin also had a stash of nondisclosure agreements he kept in a safe that he forced the women to sign, the feds charged.
Howard Rubin’s indictment stating the ex-financier allegedly recruited dozens of women to engage in commercial sex acts with him involving BDSM. US District Court E.D.N.Y.
Powers was allegedly instrumental in finding the women — mostly through social media — and flying them into New York.
Many of the women targeted were former Playboy models, the feds said in a letter demanding Rubin be detained.
After the sexual encounters, Rubin or Powers allegedly paid the victims through a wire transfer or PayPal and Venmo, but staggered the payments to avoid sending $10,000 in a single shot, allowing them to remain under the radar, according to prosecutors.
A page of the indictment with the victims listed and the alleged dates of abuse. US District Court E.D.N.Y.
Overall, it’s estimated at least $1 million of Rubin’s money was spent on the alleged sex trafficking.
Disturbing allegations against Rubin were first leveled in lawsuits dating back nearly a decade. It’s unclear what prompted the feds to move forward with the criminal case now.
Rubin’s longtime wife Mary J. Henry filed for divorce from him in 2021 after he was accused of sexual abuse in the suits.
Rubin — a Wall Street high roller who has managed money for the Soros Fund and worked for Salomon Brothers — was set to be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court Friday afternoon.
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He and Powers, who was arrested in Texas, are both facing charges of 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. Rubin was taken to civil court in 2017 after a number of women accused him of violent sexual assaults.
He lost the case in 2022 when a jury awarded seven plaintiffs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The total judgment against Rubin at that trial was $4.47 million.
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.
Rubin’s defense attorney in the criminal case didn’t immediately comment.