🔗 Share this article

One-time Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape saying to his UK-based partner how they are screwed and in deep trouble if he was deemed able to go to trial on human trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has learned.

The recordings were part of over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day fitness to stand trial hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to be tried next to his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

In contrast, the prosecution argue their medical experts determined his condition has stabilized and that the recordings demonstrate he is extremely fixated on being declared unfit.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a positive result, labeling being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a physician: you had better rule me unfit, the judge learned.

Judicial Process and Psychiatric Evidence

The recordings were taped last year while he was being held for several months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could regain fitness.

The octogenarian had previously been found not competent in May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was able for trial following his hospital stay.

The prosecution informed the judge Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was caught on tape telling to Smith how terrible prison was, stating: that's why we have to succeed.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a international sex trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which have a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an exposé that uncovered the trio had been at the heart of a complex network sourcing young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the evidence of several professionals - forensic psychologists, doctors and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were examined in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

Several defence experts, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates disinhibited and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a spectrum of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on around 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the near future, notwithstanding having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I don't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was overheard telling Smith from prison.

The prosecution contend this shows his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was found incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

However, the defense's witnesses disagree, stating it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his legal restrictions and the severity of the situation.

"I didn't see the expected emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such severe allegations," stated one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor throughout the assessment... was as if we were having a chat at his country club. There was no sense of alarm."

Diverging Medical Assessments

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline started in 2013, when tests showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his history showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a decisive influence on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started hallucinating, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, immobile, in a nearby property.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was able after assessing him over four months in the facility.

They say his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is more capable and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for competency," said one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the court, was described as jovial and quite engaging during meetings in prison, and was purposely pushing boundaries, on occasion using informal terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his results may have improved since 2023 from borderline or impaired to average because of sobriety and more consistent treatment during his stay.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Concerns

Central to determining competency is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial