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Ex-George Soros Fund Manager Howard Rubin Charged With Sex Trafficking [WATCH]

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Federal prosecutors announced [1] that Howard Rubin, a 70-year-old retired Wall Street financier and former portfolio manager at Soros Fund Management, has been arrested and charged with sex trafficking.

Authorities allege Rubin lured dozens of women to New York City between 2009 and 2019, where he restrained, beat, and electrocuted them in hotels and a Midtown penthouse.

Rubin, who built a 30-year career on Wall Street and was featured in books such as Liar’s Poker and The Big Short, was taken into custody Friday morning at his Fairfield, Connecticut home.

He was later ordered held without bail at a Brooklyn federal court hearing, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution, and bank fraud.

Prosecutors detailed allegations that Rubin, worth tens of millions of dollars, used his wealth and resources to lure vulnerable women, many of them former Playboy models, into situations where he subjected them to violent abuse.

Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said, “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.”

Image Credit: Matt Palumbo [7]
The Heir – Inside the (Not So) Secret Network of Alex Soros [7]

Court documents describe Rubin leasing a West 57th Street penthouse near Central Park for $18,000 a month between 2011 and 2017.

One bedroom was converted into a red-painted, soundproofed room nicknamed “The Dungeon,” which contained restraints, a cross, and an electrical device used to shock women.

Rubin’s longtime personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, 45, was also arrested and charged with sex trafficking.

Prosecutors allege she recruited women through social media, arranged travel, and helped facilitate payments, usually around $5,000 per encounter, though sometimes less if Rubin claimed dissatisfaction.

Payments were made via wire transfers, PayPal, or Venmo, with Rubin staggering transfers to avoid detection.

The indictment names ten victims as “Jane Does” but states Rubin targeted dozens more women over a decade.

Prosecutors said the women were often given drugs or alcohol, including Valium, and sometimes gagged to prevent them from objecting.

Even when safe words were agreed upon, Rubin allegedly ignored them.

Text messages detailed in the indictment show Rubin describing his conduct to Powers.

In one exchange, he allegedly wrote about electrocuting a woman’s genitals, adding, “I don’t care if she screams,” followed by a laughing emoji.

Other messages described him restraining women to a cross or complaining that his electrocution device was “losing strength.”

Prosecutors argued that Rubin is a flight risk, citing his access to $74.4 million in the Cayman Islands.

They also described him as a danger to the public. Rubin’s attorney sought release on $25 million bond, proposing his estranged wife’s $8 million Yorkville apartment as collateral.

The request was denied.

Rubin’s legal troubles began years earlier.

In 2017, three Florida women, including Playboy Playmates Mia Lytell and Amy Moore, along with model and dancer Stephanie Caldwell, sued him in civil court over violent sexual assaults.

That case later expanded to six plaintiffs.

In 2022, a jury awarded the women between $620,000 and $750,000 each, with Rubin ordered to pay nearly $4.8 million in legal fees earlier this year.

He has appealed those rulings but was required to post nearly $10 million in bonds.

Powers, who was arrested in Texas and is expected to be extradited to New York, is also accused of financially depending on Rubin for her mortgage, living expenses, and other costs.

Prosecutors said Rubin funded nearly all aspects of her life.

If convicted of the sex trafficking charges, Rubin and Powers face a minimum of 15 years in prison.