Defendants Allegedly Arranged for Women to Travel to a Sex ‘Dungeon’ in a New York City Penthouse, Where He Exceeded the Scope of Their Consent by Violently Abusing Them
A 10-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging retired New York-based financier, Howard Rubin, also known as “Howie” and “H,” along with his personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, with sex trafficking and transporting women in interstate commerce for sex acts with Rubin. Rubin was also charged with bank fraud in connection with misrepresentations made to a bank in the course of financing Powers’s mortgage for the Texas home of Powers and her husband.
Rubin was arrested this morning in Fairfield, Connecticut and will be arraigned this afternoon in federal court in Brooklyn before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Powers was arrested in Texas this morning and is scheduled to make her initial appearance on Monday in federal court in the Northern District of Texas. Powers will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.
Joseph Nocella Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, New York Field Office (FBI), and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI New York) announced the arrests and indictment.
“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, and in some cases physical injuries,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Today’s arrests show that no one who engages in sex trafficking, in this case in luxury hotels and a penthouse apartment that featured a so-called sex ‘dungeon,’ is above the law, and that they will be brought to justice. Human beings are not chattel to be exploited for sex and sadistically abused, and anyone who thinks otherwise can expect to find themselves in handcuffs and facing federal prosecution like these defendants.”
“For many years, Howard Rubin and Jennifer Powers allegedly spent at least one million dollars to finance the commercial sexual torture of multiple women via a national trafficking network. The defendants allegedly exploited Rubin’s status to ensnare their prospective victims and forced them to endure unthinkable physical trauma before silencing any outcries with threats of legal recourse,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “The FBI will continue to apprehend any trafficker who sexually abuses others for twisted gratification.”
“It’s alleged Rubin directed a sex trafficking enterprise, exploiting women who were transported from across the country to his Manhattan penthouse that was equipped with a soundproof sex room filled with BDSM equipment, including a device used to shock the women,” stated Special Agent in Charge of IRS-CI Chavis. “This was not a one-man show. While Rubin dehumanized these women with abhorrent sexual acts, Powers is alleged to have run the day-to-day operations of the enterprise and got paid generously for her efforts. IRS-CI and FBI partnered to see fit that all the facts are detailed in this case and ensure that this pair realizes the full consequences of their ghastly behaviors.”
American Buddhist Net 