🔗 Share this article

One-time Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his associate that they were in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was deemed fit to go to trial on sex trafficking charges later this year, a federal court in NY has learned.

The taped conversations were included in in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a four-day legal competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to face trial alongside his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.

However, prosecutors contend their doctors found his mental state has stabilized and that the conversations show he is remarkably focused on being declared incompetent.

In additional tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a favorable ruling, characterizing being found fit as a catastrophe, and instructs a medical professional: you better rule me incompetent, the judge learned.

Court Process and Psychiatric Opinions

The calls were recorded in the past year while he was being held for several months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could regain his faculties.

The 81-year-old had previously been found mentally incompetent in May but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was competent for trial following his evaluation.

Prosecutors told the judge Jeffries repeatedly protested prison conditions and was heard describing to Smith how awful incarceration was, stating: which is why we have to pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a global trafficking and commercial sex business in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the charges, which could result in a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their arrests followed an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation sourcing young men for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the evidence of several professionals - experts, doctors and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were cross-examined in proceedings recently.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Three medical witnesses for the defense, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and off-color conduct, which is part of a range of symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also taped in minute detail on approximately 20 recorded calls talking about his travel itinerary for the coming months, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

"I wouldn't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard saying to Smith from prison.

The prosecution argue this indicates his awareness that he would go free if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's expert witnesses have a different view, saying it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the charges.

"He lacked the normal emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," said one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner during the assessment... was almost like we were having lunch at his club. There was no sign of distress."

Diverging Medical Diagnoses

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration commenced in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he kept on drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a significant effect on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, unable to move, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over four months in custody.

They say his mental faculties did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the hearing, was described as lighthearted and fairly charismatic during evaluations in prison, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, sometimes using disrespectful terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and better management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Concerns

Key to establishing competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the allegations against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial