A former portfolio manager at Soros Fund Management, Howard Rubin, has been indicted on serious federal charges connected to a scheme of sex trafficking, coercion, and violent abuse. Together with his longtime assistant, Jennifer Powers, Rubin is accused of orchestrating a network that recruited vulnerable women—some formerly associated with Playboy—into his Manhattan penthouse, where prosecutors allege he subjected them to horrific abuse in a room rigged as a soundproof “sex dungeon.”
U.S. authorities assert that between roughly 2009 and 2019, Rubin used force, fraud, and coercion to manipulate women into traveling to New York and participating in sadomasochistic sex acts in exchange for money. The indictment claims he invested more than $1 million into flights, payments, and the maintenance of a luxury penthouse outfitted with restraints and electrical shock equipment. NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and threats were allegedly used to silence victims and prevent them from speaking out.
Rubin pleaded not guilty after being arrested in Connecticut, and a federal judge ordered him detained without bail, calling him a flight risk. Powers, 45, was arrested in Texas and is expected to appear in federal court. If convicted, each faces at least 15 years to life for the trafficking charges; Rubin also faces up to 30 years for alleged bank fraud tied to misstatements in mortgage paperwork connected to a house purchase.
In earlier civil litigation, some of the alleged victims sued Rubin and Powers in 2017. A jury held Rubin responsible and awarded them $3.9 million; he is appealing that judgment. Rubin’s professional background spans a career in finance, including stints at Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and from 2008 to 2015 at Soros Fund Management.
Authorities say the alleged victims often had histories of vulnerability—poverty, addiction, or prior abuse. Prosecutors allege that Rubin’s operation sought out those at risk, sometimes using drugs or alcohol to impair consent, and subjected them to acts beyond agreed terms.
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