Overview

• Howard Rubin, 70, was arrested in Fairfield, Connecticut, and Jennifer Powers, 45, was arrested in Texas after the DOJ unsealed an EDNY indictment.
• The alleged scheme spanned roughly 2009–2019, with encounters moving from luxury Manhattan hotels to a Central Park–area penthouse that contained a locked, soundproof red room called “the Dungeon,” including an electric shock device.
• Prosecutors say more than $1 million was spent to recruit economically vulnerable women, with Powers arranging flights to LaGuardia or JFK, managing the penthouse, and handling complaints.
• Women were allegedly required to sign nondisclosure agreements that shifted the risk of injury and barred them from discussing the encounters, with financial penalties for violations.
• Both defendants face a mandatory minimum of 15 years up to life if convicted; the FBI opened a victim and witness portal at fbi.gov/HowardRubinVictims, and a 2017 civil jury previously found them not liable in a related case.