Welcome to Arrest Stories. Seventy-year-old retired financier Howard Rubin was arrested by FBI agents in Fairfield, Connecticut on federal sex trafficking charges, accused of operating a million-dollar network that allegedly tortured women in a soundproofed Manhattan penthouse dungeon. Here's what may have happened.
According to federal prosecutors, Rubin transformed his two-bedroom Manhattan penthouse into what authorities describe as a house of horrors. The retired bond trader allegedly converted one bedroom into a red-painted, soundproofed room dubbed "The Dungeon," complete with a lock on the door and equipped with bondage and discipline instruments designed to restrain victims.
The operation allegedly targeted former Playboy models through social media and modeling pages. Prosecutors say Rubin's associate Jennifer Powers arranged for women to fly to New York for encounters, requiring them to sign non-disclosure agreements upon arrival. Women were allegedly paid five thousand dollars per encounter if Rubin was satisfied, several thousand less if he wasn't.
Federal authorities allege the encounters went far beyond consent. "During many such encounters, Rubin engaged in conduct beyond the scope of the women's consent," prosecutors stated. "Rubin brutalized women's bodies, causing them to fear for their safety and resulting in significant pain or injuries, which at times required women to seek medical attention."
The indictment reveals disturbing details about the alleged operation. Women were reportedly encouraged to use drugs or alcohol before encounters. Safe words were allegedly established but then ignored, with victims bound and gagged, making them unable to communicate distress.
Prosecutors say Rubin spent at least one million dollars operating the trafficking network while maintaining over seventy-four million dollars in a Cayman Islands account. Powers allegedly managed the dungeon's maintenance and cleaned equipment between uses.
"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," federal prosecutors announced.
Prosecutors requested Rubin be held without bail, citing community safety concerns.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.