🔗 Share this article

One-time A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his UK-based partner that they were in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was found able to stand trial on sex trafficking allegations later this year, a federal court in NY has learned.

The recordings were among more than 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is coping with cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to face trial alongside his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

However, prosecutors say their health professionals determined his mental state has stabilized and that the conversations demonstrate he is remarkably focused on being ruled not competent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a positive result, labeling being ruled able as a disaster, and says to a doctor: you must find me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Court Hearings and Health Opinions

The recordings were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for four months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore competency.

The 81-year-old had in the past been deemed legally unfit in May but prison officials then stated in December that he was competent for proceedings after his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries frequently griped about prison conditions and was recorded describing to Smith how terrible prison was, remarking: so we got to pull this off.

The Case

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

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which carry a potential penalty of a life term.

Their arrests were prompted by an exposé that revealed the three had been at the heart of a complex scheme sourcing young men for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after weighing the testimony of six experts - psychologists, psychiatrists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were cross-examined in court during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and improper behavior, which is consistent with a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a derogatory term, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations 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 incarceration.

The prosecution contend this shows his awareness that he would be released if he was ruled incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's expert witnesses counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the seriousness of the situation.

"He lacked the appropriate emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is facing such grave charges," testified one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior throughout the assessment... was similar to we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Opposing Medical Opinions

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

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a major impact on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was able after assessing him over several months in custody.

They contend his intellectual functioning were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we test for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and fairly charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was deliberately testing the limits, sometimes using informal language.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of stopping drinking and improved treatment during his evaluation.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Concerns

Fundamental to assessing competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial