Southlake woman charged in alleged "Sex Dungeon" trafficking scheme with NY financier

Texas woman charged in alleged sex trafficking scheme

A Southlake woman, Jennifer Powers, has been charged with helping a wealthy New York financier run a decade-long sex trafficking network involving "sex dungeon encounters," and she was granted bond pending a required court appearance in New York this week.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas - A Southlake woman made her first appearance in a federal court in Fort Worth charged for her alleged role in a sex trafficking scheme. 

The feds say she helped facilitate so-called "sex dungeon encounters" for a wealthy New York financier, and she was paid millions for her service.

What we know:

The story was front-page news as the criminal complaint alleges that for at least 10 years, from 2009 through 2019, Wall-Street financier Howard Rubin, who’s reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars, allegedly recruited dozens of women to engage in prostitution and federal prosecutors say for most of that time Jennifer Powers, Rubin’s assistant, facilitated the encounters. 

Allegations are "Rubin brutalized women’s bodies, causing them to fear for their safety, resulting in significant pain or injuries."

Rubin and Powers allegedly transformed a bedroom in Rubin’s New York City penthouse into a sex "dungeon" full of torture devices, including one to shock or electrocute women. 

The two allegedly targeted former playboy models, paying them thousands of dollars. 

Rubin allegedly gave these women a "safe word" but ultimately did not abide by it.

By the numbers:

Federal investigators say Rubin and Powers spent at least $1,000,000 of Rubin’s money operating and maintaining the trafficking network.

Rubin reportedly spent $8,000,000 on his assistant during a five-year period, including mortgage payments on her home in Southlake.

In 2017, Rubin and Powers were sued by some of these women. A jury found at trial only Rubin was liable and awarded the women nearly $4,000,000.

Rubin is currently appealing the decision.

Dig deeper:

FOX 4 spoke with a former U.S. attorney for the northern district of Texas, Richard Roper, about the time gap and how federal prosecutors might try to use Rubin’s assistant against him.

"Why did it take so long to bring these charges? It could be that the alleged victims wanted their day in court in a civil arena to be able to collect damages before the criminal case. The prosecution would consider offering Powers a better deal to convince her to flip on Rubin. That’s a tried-and-true tactic of federal prosecutors," said Roper.

What's next:

Powers was granted bond in federal court in Fort Worth on Monday and must appear in New York on Wednesday. 

Rubin is labeled as a flight risk and not given the option for bond at this time.

Rubin and Powers each face a sentence of at least 15 years in prison.