The private assistant accused of sex-trafficking Playboy fashions to ex-Wall Avenue powerhouse Howard Rubin to gasoline his BDSM dungeon was a former New York Metropolis bottle woman who placed on a show of Christian values, an ex-friend says.
Married mom-of-three Jennifer Powers, 45, made it a degree to be protecting of different girls that she labored with at Massive Apple golf equipment whereas showing decided to reside a “celebrity-like way of life,” the previous pal informed The Put up.
Powers and Rubin, a retired financier, have been each slapped with sex-trafficking costs Sept. 26. Powers and her husband, Steve, have been later additionally hit with tax-fraud costs for allegedly failing to report tens of millions of {dollars} to the IRS that Rubin funneled to them over a number of years.
The trio appeared in Brooklyn federal court docket for a standing convention Monday, with Rubin additionally having a listening to during which he failed to influence a choose to launch him on a $50 million bond bundle.
The sickening accusations in opposition to Powers left her former good friend surprised.
“[Powers] all the time introduced herself as having clear values, she made it clear she was a Christian, loves Jesus, all that, like she’s from Texas. At all times was enjoying up the Southern belle factor,” mentioned the good friend, who was pleasant with Powers beginning in 2011 – the identical yr Rubin employed Powers as an assistant.
“That’s what actually shocked me as a result of I adopted her on Instagram, she was all the time posting not like tremendous non secular stuff or something however identical to extra Christian values kind of factor, so to see that was operating a intercourse dungeon I might assume that will go far in opposition to these Christian values.”
The good friend mentioned Powers didn’t convey up faith a lot in individual however her social-media posts present how devoted she at the very least needed to look like.
A publish from Powers’ Instagram account in December 2023 present her total household inside a church with a caption that reads, “My Jesus loving boys make my coronary heart blissful.”
One other publish from March 2024 exhibits the household celebrating Easter, with Powers writing, “He’s Risen and we’re grateful! Blissful Easter buddies.”
However Powers additionally tried to flaunt an opulent way of life that left some folks round her questioning how she and her husband paid for all of it, the good friend claimed in an interview shortly after the bombshell indictment.
The good friend assumed Steve was raking in tens of hundreds of {dollars} from every of his disc jockey gigs.
Powers labored as a bottle woman for numerous Massive Apple golf equipment, together with Manhattan’s hip LAVO, for a number of years, the good friend mentioned.
“She was only a good individual — undoubtedly needed the standing, like she would speak about her closet of Christian Louboutin footwear, like that’s what was necessary to her,” the pal mentioned. “She needed to be the richest of all of the LAVO women, I feel she simply needed to reside that celebrity-like way of life.”
Images obtained by The Put up present Powers on extravagant jaunts and even posing in pleasant images with Aerosmith rock star Steven Tyler.
Throughout Powers’ years on the clubbing circuit, the good friend mentioned her buddy introduced herself because the “mother” of the opposite girls who labored together with her.
“She was somewhat bit older, and she or he kind of was the mom determine,” the good friend mentioned of Powers. “It appeared extra like she was looking for them.”
Powers’ hubby was “type of like a jock” and “not the neatest individual” however was good and personable, the previous good friend added. The DJ performed at totally different golf equipment, together with LAVO virtually weekly, she mentioned.
The good friend mentioned she attended the couple’s engagement get together that gave the impression to be thrown by Rubin, and went to an extravagant child bathe when the Powers have been anticipating mother and father that she now believes was paid for by Powers’ boss.
At these events, different girls would strategy Rubin as in the event that they have been seeking to “kiss the ring,” the good friend claimed.
Rubin and Powers are accused of drawing girls to New York Metropolis below false pretenses earlier than Rubin allegedly tortured them at his penthouse-turned-sex dungeon.
The feds mentioned this month Rubin doled out $9 million to Powers, together with for hire, mortgage and bank card payments that have been by no means reported to federal officers throughout tax season.
Powers and her husband lived in New York Metropolis for years earlier than shifting to Texas in 2020.
“I might have assumed she was making some extra cash as a result of I believed Howie, like, cherished her, however not the quantity he gave her,” the good friend mentioned.
