🔗 Share this article

Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his associate how they were finished and in deep trouble if he was deemed competent to face trial on sex trafficking accusations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has heard.

The audio were part of in excess of 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy legal competency hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is coping with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to be tried together with his partner and their purported intermediary in October.

In contrast, prosecutors argue their medical experts determined his mental state has stabilized and that the conversations demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being found not competent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries says he is praying for a positive result, labeling being deemed competent as a disaster, and tells a doctor: you must rule me incompetent, the court was told.

Legal Hearings and Psychiatric Opinions

The conversations were taped the previous year while he was being treated for several months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could restore competency.

The 81-year-old had in the past been deemed not competent in May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was fit for trial following his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries repeatedly protested life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how terrible incarceration was, remarking: which is why we have to succeed.

Context

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

They have denied the accusations, which could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their detentions came after an investigation that uncovered the trio had been at the core of a elaborate operation recruiting young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the testimony of six experts - forensic psychologists, specialists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were questioned in court this week.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

A trio of defence experts, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and improper conduct, which is symptomatic of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on approximately 20 jail conversations discussing his travel itinerary for the next few months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this demonstrates his recognition that he would be released if he was ruled incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

Conversely, the defense's medical experts disagree, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the severity of the charges.

"He lacked the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is up against such serious allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having lunch at his home. There was no sign of distress."

Conflicting Medical Opinions

Reports indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline commenced in 2013, when imaging showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his history showed he persisted in drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a decisive influence on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

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

They assert his mental faculties did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more capable cognitively than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for competency," testified one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was described as cheerful and rather engaging during interactions in prison, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using informal address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from low or impaired to normal because of sobriety and better treatment during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

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