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George Soros’ right-hand man was accused of BDSM crimes in his sex dungeon

Financier Howard Rubin stands accused of taking his kinks too far -- with paid BDSM partners
Financier Howard Rubin stands accused of taking his kinks too far — with paid BDSM partners

As a high-earning money manager — including for the Soros Fund — Howard Rubin seemed to have it all. There was the multi-million-dollar co-op on the Upper East Side, as well as a $9 million waterfront estate in the Hamptons. Rubin and his wife, Mary, were known for their generosity on the city’s philanthropy circuit; from 2015 to 2016, the couple gave nearly $500,000 to charitable causes, including the New York Junior League and Hope for a Cure.

But there was one other real-estate holding he kept hidden: a luxurious Madison Avenue penthouse, outfitted with blow-up photos of Playboy models and, apparently, all manner of BDSM paraphernalia.

It is in this secret sex dungeon that Rubin, now 66, is accused of having committed violent acts and sexual assault against a number of women, including actual Playboy playmates. A civil trial, with six of his seven alleged victims seeking at least $18 million, is scheduled for November.

Among other misdeeds, Rubin has been accused of “beat[ing a woman’s] breasts so badly that her right implant flipped” — an injury so severe that, according to court documents, her “plastic surgeon was not even willing to operate on her breasts.”

Emma Hopper is one of three women claiming physical abuse, by Rubin, beyond what they agreed to. Instagram
Emma Hopper is one of three women claiming physical abuse, by Rubin, beyond what they agreed to. Instagram

He is alleged to have paid his partners as much as $5,000 for each BDSM session. But, the women claim, they did not agree to the degree of abuse and degradation Rubin inflicted.

One of the plaintiffs claims that, while she was bound and vulnerable in Rubin’s lair, he told her “I’m going to rape you like I rape my daughter” and then, according to the complaint, forced sex on her against her will. (Rubin has three children with his estranged wife, including at least one daughter.)

Rubin’s lawyer had no comment.

The initial accusations against the disgraced financier were made in November 2017, but his wife of 36 years, fellow Wall Streeter and Harvard MBA Mary Henry, only filed for divorce on July 7.

“How much can a wife take?” said an executive who worked at Merrill Lynch at the same time as Mary.

Attorney John Balestriere claims Howard Rubin nonconsensually abused Amy Moore and two others during BDSM play.Craig Spratt/Stunnaful Photos
Attorney John Balestriere claims Howard Rubin nonconsensually abused Amy Moore and two others during BDSM play.Craig Spratt/Stunnaful Photos

“I thought he was a nice guy. He was a nebbishy Jewish guy and totally normal. I was surprised to hear about him having that apartment [with a sex dungeon],” said a trader who worked with Rubin at Soros Fund Management, created by billionaire investor George Soros.

And while Rubin’s colleagues may be shocked by his over-the-top predilections, some say that “Howie,” as he was known on Wall Street, could be out-of-control at the office, too.

“I saw him throw a chair on the trading floor,” one former co-worker told The Post “He said, ‘F–k. I just lost $50 million!’ and threw a chair at his computer. Then he came back and threw it a second time, even harder. That sums up Howie: High strung, aggressive, does not hold back his feelings. He was a trader whose ego was tied up in being the biggest swinging dick on Wall Street.”

Howard Rubin grew up in Massachusetts, where his father did analytical research for Polaroid in Cambridge. He attended Lafayette College and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. But after school, he skipped the corporate world for a stint as a Vegas card counter. Over two years, Rubin turned $3,000 into $80,000.

Playboy playmate Mia Raquel Lytell is one of the women accusing Rubin
Playboy playmate Mia Raquel Lytell is one of the women accusing Rubin

Then he scored an MBA from Harvard and focused on Wall Street, where he began working for Salomon Brothers in 1983. As noted in “Liar’s Poker” by Michael Lewis, Rubin thought that “the trading floor at Salomon Brothers felt like a Las Vegas casino. You made your bets, handled risk, in the midst of a thousand distractions.” He became famed as a money-maker — earning $55 million for Salomon during his first two years.

While making his bones at Salomon, Rubin married financial advisor Mary Henry in 1985. Rubin seemed like a typical, well-heeled Manhattanite climbing the Wall Street ladder. A society photo captures the duo swanning through a ritzy 2013 benefit at the Pierre Hotel.

A source who worked on the couple’s Hamptons property — one blog praised the garden’s “Monet-like effect” — never saw Rubin’s rough side. “They’re great people,” the source told The Post of Rubin and Mary. “I’ve known them for 10-plus years. They have always been very honorable.”

Rubin’s high-flying life began to crash in November 2017. That was when the first allegations were leveled against him by three Florida women — Mia Lytell and Amy Moore, both described in the suit as Playboy Playmates, along with Stephanie Caldwell, said to be a model and a dancer who worked at the 24/7 Miami strip-club E11even.

Rubin rented a penthouse at this Madison Avenue building, where he kept a sex lair.Taidgh Barron/NY Post
Rubin rented a penthouse at this Madison Avenue building, where he kept a sex lair.Taidgh Barron/NY Post

They accuse Rubin of charges that include assault, battery and human trafficking. “In short, they are each alleging that they were brought to New York and taken advantage of,” the women’s attorney, John Balestriere, told The Post. “Allegations come down to [the women] saying they were physically and sexually abused.”

The suit alleges that Rubin got one woman “addicted to drugs,” and paints an ugly picture of what went on between him and six S&M partners. (Four more joined the lawsuit. Caldwell dropped out of the suit for unexplained reasons, and another woman, Julie Parker, has launched a separate suit against Rubin.)

The hired women allegedly wound up in Rubin’s dungeon, with its red walls and white carpet. Sex toys were alphabetized and an X-shaped “St. Andrews cross” — a device on which submissives are restrained, spread-eagle, at the wrists, ankles and waist — took pride of place.

The initial lawsuit stated that while Lytell and Moore believed that Rubin intended to play “some mild fetish games and perhaps take photos, neither expected to be restrained in this manner [bound with rope and tape and gagged] or to be actually beaten.”

According to a motion for summary judgment, filed by lawyer Edward McDonald on behalf of Rubin, the women signed strict non-disclosure agreements, with penalties of at least $500,000 if broken, and acknowledgement that violent sex, with a risk of injury, is what they were consenting to and being paid for.

[The women] didn’t expect to actually be beaten.

Attorney John Balestriere

The complaint alleges that the women were given little time to review the agreements. “They did not have lawyers on call,” said Balestriere.

In at least some instances, according to the lawsuit, when the women “screamed or protested [during a session], Rubin would simply become more violent.”

Lytell claims to have been beaten on the back of the head. Because, according to court documents, “she was restrained” and “in and out of consciousness, Lytell does not know if Rubin penetrated her with an object or if it was Rubin himself.”

“Some of our clients say they were in no position to speak or leave,” Balestriere told The Post.

Acknowledging that the women were all paid and that “nobody is saying a gun was put to their heads to come to New York,” Balestriere added: “Our clients are alleging that they were misled and lied to and were victims of physical and sexual violence.”

Rubin is said to no longer rent the penthouse. “Some of the [sexual implements] are in storage and some are thrown out,” a source told The Post. “Howie saved some of the stuff” — according to a court document, items in the dungeon included vaginal clamps and an electrical device with which “Rubin repeatedly shocked [Amy] Moore” — “so he doesn’t get accused of disposing of evidence.”

Howard Rubin with wife Mary, who filed for divorce in July.Patrick McMullan via Getty Image
Howard Rubin with wife Mary, who filed for divorce in July.Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

Rubin has denied the claims in the case. Rubin’s motion states that he texted Lytell to confirm that she understood precisely what he was into — and that it would hurt.
“Do u [know] what you are in for?” the text reads, according to court papers. “It’s total BDSM. Most girls love it and come back for more. But I just like to be up front about everything.”

In the motion, Rubin denies allegations of drugging. “He was not supplying drugs to the girls — except possibly painkillers during the encounters [which were painful],” an insider, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Post. “If they had [other] drugs, they were provided by people other than Howie.”

According to Rubin’s summary judgment motion, Emma Hopper, an Atlanta model and student who received payment for participating in the S&M sessions, texted an associate of Rubin’s as the lawsuits progressed. Hopper allegedly wrote that she was “so worried about everyone” and asked, “Is this all going to stop Howie from seeing us?”

A November 2017 text, included in Rubin’s motion as being sent by Hopper to Rubin’s assistant, reads: “If y’all need me to do anything to help like testify that we agreed to everything happening I will.”

Around this same time, Hopper asked Rubin to pay for a trip to Los Angeles and for a car, according to the motion. He claims to have refused. Hopper filed suit against him on Feb. 20, 2018. According to an amended statement filed by Rubin’s lawyer, one day later Hopper “texted Rubin a photo of herself in a schoolgirl outfit with her breasts exposed” and “‘I’m your little school girl slut for life.’”

Howard Rubin worked for George Soros’ Soros Fund.AFP/Getty Images
Howard Rubin worked for George Soros’ Soros Fund.AFP/Getty Images

“[Hopper] successfully opposed Mr. Rubin’s attempt … to have her case thrown out,” Balestriere said of the text.

In terms of the case against Rubin, Balestriere added, “None of these women came to New York knowing that they would be physically and sexually abused. They did not consent to what did end up happening. The key factor is that Mr. Rubin said these individuals consented to the physical and sexual violence perpetrated against them. Our six clients say they did not consent … ”

A former executive at Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital Markets, where Rubin worked from 1985 until 1987, said it’s not the first time the disgraced financier has shown his shady side — noting that, while at Merrill, Rubin made an unauthorized trade that resulted in a widely publicized $250 million loss for the firm and led to him being fired. (He was then hired by Bear Stearns.)

“[The dungeon] was just Howie being a lowlife — again,” he said.

“I never knew about the sexual deviations,” the exec added. After it came out “people were calling me and saying he’s a sleaze … but Howie has no morals. While at Merrill Lynch, he was morally bankrupt.”

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