Howard Rubin, 70, a high-powered money manager once dubbed the “King of Wall Street,” was arrested Tuesday on various federal sex trafficking charges. The FBI arrested Rubin in his house in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is currently pending a 10-count indictment where he’s accused of trafficking six women to engage in commercial sex acts. Along with him, his longtime personal assistant Jennifer Powers was arrested in Texas and is charged with many of the same crimes.
The indictment shows that Rubin and his partner operated a large trafficking ring. That has resulted in the pouring of at least $1 million into national recruitment and subsequent exploitation of women. Many of these women were actually trafficked across state lines. This conduct had the purpose of causing them to engage in prostitution, thus violating the Mann Act.
Rubin was reported to have taken actions without the women’s consent during their appointments. Because of this abusive behavior they inflicted serious, physical and psychological harm. The indictment shows that he used his resources as a weapon to coerce and mislead the women. He forced them to engage in acts of commercial sex.
In a prior litigation, Rubin faced high-profile charges. Two self-identified Playboy models and a third model from Florida alleged that he raped them in 2016. These women were just a few of the innumerable who testified that they were physically assaulted, sexually assaulted, and raped throughout repeated incidents within NYC.
As if all of that weren’t enough, the indictment further alleges that Rubin used NDAs to threaten these women into silence. Furthermore, these NDAs allegedly intimidated them with reprisals in the form of arrests and deportation if they dared to report or even tried to share their stories.
“Rubin used the NDAs to threaten the women with legal consequences and public shaming if they sought legal recourse,” – The office.
Joseph Nocella, a spokesperson for the prosecution, underscored the serious nature of the case. He stated, “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.”
The allegations against Rubin are serious. If he’s found guilty of sex trafficking, he may be sentenced to life in federal prison. At the very least, he would be required to serve a mandatory minimum of 15 years. His initial appearance is set for this afternoon in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
Nocella emphasized the message these arrests send regarding accountability in sex trafficking cases: “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.”