Howard Rubin, a former bond trader at Salomon Brothers and a figure in Michael Lewis’ book “Liar’s Poker,” has been indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors in Brooklyn allege that between 2009 and 2019, Rubin recruited women and coerced them into commercial sex acts in New York. The indictment also names Jennifer Powers, his former personal assistant.
Rubin was arrested at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut. In addition to the sex trafficking charges, he faces an accusation of bank fraud for allegedly providing false information to a lender while obtaining a mortgage for Powers’ Texas residence.
Attorneys representing both Rubin and Powers declined to comment on the case.
The indictment follows several years of civil litigation against Rubin. In 2022, he was ordered to pay $3.85 million to women who claimed they were brought to his Manhattan penthouse under misleading circumstances and subjected to abuse. While Rubin’s legal team argued that the women had consented and signed agreements, a jury found him liable for sex trafficking and battery.
Prosecutors now assert that Rubin and Powers operated a scheme over ten years by arranging travel for women who believed they were meeting under different pretenses.
Rubin gained prominence in the financial industry as an innovator during the 1980s. At Salomon Brothers, he contributed to the development of collateralized mortgage obligations—financial instruments that changed global markets—and later held positions at Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and Soros Fund Management until 2015.
The current charges have shifted attention from Rubin’s financial career to allegations of coercion and abuse involving vulnerable women recruited into sex work. If convicted on these criminal counts, Rubin could face significant prison time.
