Ex-Citigroup Exec Jailed for 30 Years for Drugging Women, Filming Assaults, and Possessing Child Abuse Images

A former Citigroup executive has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after admitting he drugged women, sexually assaulted them, and secretly recorded the abuse for nearly a decade. Edward Gene Smith, 50, was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan federal court after pleading guilty to multiple federal offences, including drugging women to facilitate sexual assault, child sexual abuse material offences, drug crimes, and obstruction of justice.

A Harvard graduate, Smith admitted to drugging women to facilitate sexual assaults and receiving child sexual abuse material. The 30-year prison term is the maximum sentence prosecutors agreed to pursue under Smith's plea agreement, letting him avoid a trial that could have resulted in an 80-year sentence.

A Decade of Hidden Crimes

Federal prosecutors said that Smith spent years preying on vulnerable women he met online, luring them to his luxury Manhattan apartment and other New York locations.

According to authorities, he singled out women from abroad or far from home who were struggling financially, offering support before secretly drugging them. Once incapacitated, Smith allegedly sexually assaulted them and secretly filmed and photographed the abuse. Jay Clayton, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, called the abuse 'horrific'.

Prosecutors Reject Autism Defence

Ahead of the sentencing, Smith's lawyers argued that autism spectrum disorder was the 'primary driver' behind his crimes. They claimed he was 'devastated' to learn that the women he saw as girlfriends considered the encounters non-consensual.

Federal prosecutors rejected the defence, calling the argument 'inflammatory nonsense' and 'an offensive smear to those in the autistic community.' They said that Smith deliberately drugged women, carried out the assaults, and hid the evidence.

Evidence of Child Sexual Abuse Material Found

In addition to the assaults, investigators found tens of thousands of child sexual abuse materials in Smith's possession. Prosecutors said that the files showed children, including infants and toddlers.

As part of his plea deal, Smith admitted to receiving and possessing the illegal images. He also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice.

A High-Flying Career Ends in Disgrace

Before his arrest, Smith built a successful career in finance. After graduating from Harvard in 1997, he held senior roles at BlackRock, Banco Santander, State Street, and Oliver Wyman. In 2021, he joined Citigroup as managing director of capital risk analytics. At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said that he earned a $400,000 base salary and was eligible for a $1M bonus.

Following the case, Citigroup said it terminated Smith after learning of the investigation. 'We moved to terminate Mr Smith immediately upon learning about law enforcement's initial investigation, well before the allegations of this depraved behaviour came to light,' the bank said. 'We cooperated with law enforcement as they sought justice for the victims of these heinous crimes.'

Smith also expressed remorse in a letter to the judge before sentencing. 'The man I used to be embarrasses me. I don't want to be him ever again,' he wrote. The sentence concludes a years-long investigation after prosecutors said Smith carefully planned and hid his crimes. It also marks the end of a case that exposed years of abuse hidden behind a successful Wall Street career.