A former portfolio manager at Soros Fund Management, Howard Rubin, has been federally indicted on charges of running an elaborate, decade-long scheme to recruit women—many formerly linked to Playboy—to his Manhattan penthouse, where prosecutors claim he subjected them to violent, nonconsensual acts.
Court documents allege that between 2009 and 2019, Rubin and his assistant, Jennifer Powers, lured women across state lines for “commercial sex acts,” coercing them through force, fraud, and intimidation. The indictment describes a soundproofed “sex dungeon” in a Central Park–area penthouse outfitted with restraints, BDSM gear, and even devices intended to administer electric shock.
Victims reportedly were encouraged to ingest drugs or alcohol to impair resistance, and safe words were allegedly ignored or rendered unusable—sometimes even when subjects were unconscious. The indictment also details a scheme to pay victims thousands of dollars per encounter and to suppress disclosure through non-disclosure agreements and legal threats. Rubin is additionally charged with bank fraud tied to misrepresentations in financing his assistant’s mortgage.
Rubin pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail, while Powers has also pleaded not guilty and will face legal proceedings. Prosecutors say both could face up to 15 years in prison on the sex trafficking charges alone if convicted.