2 hours ago
1
Four of financier Howard Rubin’s accusers told The Post of the cruelty he allegedly inflicted on them and how he kept a “trophy wall” of pictures in his sex den.
The multi-millionaire lured multiple women, including Playboy models, to his Midtown penthouse for paid professional photo shoots, according to prosecutors.
However, they claim he then turned into a “monster” who sadistically brutalized and raped them in his custom-built torture chamber.
“He gets gratification — sexual and otherwise — from cruelty,” one of the sources said in an interview with The Post.
“It isn’t only physical torture; he keeps using his money, power and the legal system to control and hurt people.”
“I just want to feel safe again and know that everyone responsible is held accountable.”
Rubin — worth tens of millions — and his assistant Jennifer Powers stand accused of running a $1 million bondage and masochism sex-trafficking scheme between 2009 and 2019. The indictment against them listed 10 accusers as Jane Does, but federal prosecutorTara McGrath, said at Rubin’s arraignment there were dozens more victims and accomplices not named in court papers.
The women who spoke to The Post did so anonymously as they said they still live in fear of retribution against them, even though Rubin has been in jail since Sept. 26 and been denied bail twice.
They describe him as an “evil mastermind” who they fear will stop at nothing to ruin their lives, even from behind bars.
Many of the victims claim they were recruited via a modeling website or social media by Rubin’s assistant, Jennifer Powers, who would invite them to meet the multi-millionaire for dinner in Manhattan and take part in paid fetish photo shoots.
In some messages, Powers reassured some women who expressed concerns about the photo shoot that Rubin was a perfectly kind gentleman and that “no sex” was required, court documents show.
The women who spoke to The Post said Rubin presented well over dinner where, in hindsight, they believe he “profiled” them as potential victims.
Once in his penthouse they saw what appeared to be “a victim wall”, in which Rubin displayed framed photos of various Playboy models he claimed to have “seen” in the dungeon.
“All over in the condo when you walk in, the walls are covered with images of models from Playboy. I recognized a lot of those women. Some of them I looked up to when I was just starting my career,” said one of his accusers.
“[Rubin said] all of the images were girls he had ‘seen’, who had been there before.
“It’s like those were his trophies.”
Once inside the $18,000-a-month penthouse at Metropolitan Tower Condominium on 57th Street, the women were asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement which threatened a $500,000 penalty if they ever spoke about their encounters.
Then Rubin would suddenly “turn evil” and the abuse would begin, according to the accusers who spoke to The Post.
“Hurting women is just something that he wanted to do and loved,” another one of his accusers said.
Federal prosecutors accuse Rubin of luring “dozens” of women to his apartment, where he allegedly tied them up, electrocuted them with a cattle prod, savagely beat them with closed fists, and continued to sexually abuse them after they lost consciousness.
His accusers claim they were restrained against their wills, tied to an X-shaped “St. Andrew’s cross,” drugged, gagged and beaten by Rubin, whose bondage room was also known as “the red room.”
Rubin plotted the pain he would inflict on victims in text messages with co-conspirators, and recounted the events to Powers, prosecutors allege.
Once a high-flying trader at Solomon Brothers and for George Soros’ investment firm, Rubin is currently locked up in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on charges including sex trafficking.
A letter written by Rubin’s then-wife, Mary Henry, in which she described him as “a family man,” to the court last week prompted many of his alleged victims to finally speak out.
“That tipped me over the edge,” one of his accusers said.
Henry, 74, filed for divorce from Rubin in 2021. However, the pair still help take care of their grandkids and attend family events together with their three adult children, she wrote in a letter urging the judge to spring the retired bond trader on a $50 million bail package.
“Her offering [millions] for his release made me sick and angry,” one of Rubin’s accusers said.
“She [wrote] about him taking grandchildren to swim lessons while the women he brutalized are still living in fear.
“It’s cruel and I can’t understand how anyone could defend that.”
Rubin split his time between his family, who lived nearby, and the women he allegedly trafficked into his penthouse sex dungeon, prosecutors said. In a 2015 email exchange, he made light of sleeping with his alleged accomplice Powers on his marital bed.
“By the time we go to the Rockettes, dinner and dungeon, it will be 2am — so it’s easier to tell Mary I’m away rather than come in so late,” he wrote in a Jan. 21, 2015, email to Powers, according to a filing by prosecutors Sunday.
“I probably see 5 girls the week of the 16th!! Except the 16th is holiday and my anniversary!” he wrote in another email to Powers in August 2015.
Prosecutors successfully argued Rubin should be denied bail, in part citing evidence he sought a hitman to target women who previously sued him in a civil case. They also cited his wealth and said he is a flight risk.
Allegations against Rubin first came to light in 2017, when he was taken to civil court by multiple Florida-based women who accused him of violent sexual assaults in New York. He was also sued in Brooklyn federal court in 2022.
A jury found Rubin liable for millions of dollars, but cleared Powers at a 2022 civil trial in Brooklyn.
“This is not just about one man. It’s about a system that allows predators to re-offend while survivors are left to piece their lives back together,” one of his accusers told The Post.
“Since our case first came to light in 2017 we have lived in the shadow of a man who believed his wealth, power, and connections made him untouchable … The system didn’t stop him. It allowed him to keep going.
“I’ve lived in fear for years,” one of his accusers said.
Rubin has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and is being held without bail.
Powers, who now lives in Texas, has also pleaded not guilty and is free on bail after posting an $850,000 bond.
Attorneys for both Rubin and Powers did not return The Post’s requests for comment.
Even though justice may be near, Rubin’s alleged victims say their lives have been permanently altered by his actions.
“I rarely leave home, and when I do I’m anxious because I never truly feel safe. The isolation and fear have taken my peace and most of my trust in people and in the legal system.
“It’s exhausting to always be on alert, never sure what could happen next,” said one.
English (US)