🔗 Share this article

Former Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his UK-based partner how they'd be screwed and in big trouble if he was deemed fit to stand trial on sex trafficking allegations later this year, a US district court has been told.

The recordings were included in in excess of 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day legal competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is coping with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to stand trial together with his partner and their accused middleman in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution argue their medical experts concluded his health has stabilized and that the recordings reveal he is extremely preoccupied on being found not competent.

In other tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a favorable ruling, describing being found fit as a catastrophe, and tells a physician: you had better declare me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Judicial Hearings and Health Evidence

The calls were recorded in the past year while he was being held for several months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The octogenarian had earlier been ruled legally unfit last May but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was able for trial following his evaluation.

Prosecutors advised the judge Jeffries repeatedly complained about life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how awful incarceration was, adding: which is why we have to make this work.

Background

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

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an report that revealed the trio had been at the heart of a sophisticated scheme recruiting men for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the evidence of multiple specialists - experts, specialists and neurologists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in proceedings recently.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

Several defence experts, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries shows unfiltered and off-color conduct, which is part of a range of dementia symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also heard in great detail on approximately 20 jail conversations discussing his trips abroad for the coming months, despite having been on home confinement since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard telling Smith from jail.

The prosecution contend this indicates his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the case were dropped.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses disagree, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the case.

"He lacked the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such severe allegations," testified one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the evaluation... was almost like we were having lunch at his club. There was no sense of distress."

Diverging Psychiatric Opinions

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

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

Following the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Doctors from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over an extended period in the facility.

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

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for competency," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the courtroom, was reported to be jovial and quite personable during meetings in the facility, and was purposely pushing boundaries, at times using disrespectful language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his results may have risen since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of stopping drinking and improved treatment during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Questions

Fundamental to assessing competency is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial