🔗 Share this article

Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner how they were finished and in deep trouble if he was found fit to stand trial on trafficking accusations this autumn, a US district court has heard.

The audio were among more than 100 phone calls between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy fitness to stand trial hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of the disease and is incapable to face trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

In contrast, the prosecution argue their health professionals determined his condition has stabilized and that the calls show he is extremely focused on being ruled unfit.

In additional recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a good outcome, characterizing being deemed competent as a disaster, and says to a medical professional: you had better declare me incompetent, the court heard.

Legal Proceedings and Health Evidence

The recordings were made the previous year while he was being treated for a period of months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could regain fitness.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent in May but facility staff then stated in December that he was fit for trial after his evaluation.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries often protested incarceration and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how horrible prison was, stating: so we have to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused go-between James Jacobson, 73, were accused with running a international human trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

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

Their detentions followed an report that revealed the three had been at the heart of a complex scheme recruiting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the statements of multiple specialists - experts, specialists and neurologists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three defence experts, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a head injury, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and off-color behaviour, which is part of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also heard in great detail on approximately 20 prison calls discussing his travel itinerary for the near future, despite having been on restricted movement since 2024.

"I don't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was recorded saying to Smith from jail.

The prosecution suggest this indicates his awareness that he would be released if he was declared incompetent and the charges were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, stating it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the seriousness of the charges.

"He lacked the expected affect that I would expect someone to have who is facing such serious allegations," testified one expert who reviewed Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner during the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his country club. There was no sense of anxiety."

Opposing Medical Assessments

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he continued drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a decisive influence on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was fit after observing him over an extended period in prison.

They say his mental faculties did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for fitness," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was reported to be jovial and rather personable during interactions in the facility, and was intentionally testing the limits, on occasion using familiar terms.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from borderline or deficient to average because of stopping drinking and improved management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Present Issues

Fundamental to establishing fitness is whether Jeffries understands the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial