🔗 Share this article

Ex- A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his associate how they'd be in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was found fit to go to trial on trafficking allegations later this year, a New York federal court has heard.

The recordings were among more than 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day mental competency session this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to be tried together with his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

In contrast, prosecutors say their health professionals concluded his condition has gotten better and that the conversations show he is extremely focused on being ruled incompetent.

In other tapes, Jeffries says he is wishing for a positive result, describing being deemed competent as a catastrophe, and says to a doctor: you must rule me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Opinions

The calls were taped last year while he was being held for four months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could recover fitness.

The octogenarian had previously been found legally unfit in May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his evaluation.

Government attorneys advised the judge Jeffries repeatedly griped about prison conditions and was recorded explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, stating: which is why we got to make this work.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a worldwide human trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have denied the allegations, which carry a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their arrests came after an investigation that uncovered the three had been at the heart of a sophisticated network scouting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the evidence of several professionals - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were questioned in the courtroom recently.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

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

They stated that Jeffries shows disinhibited and improper conduct, which is part of a spectrum of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also heard in great detail on around 20 recorded calls planning his trips abroad for the coming months, despite having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the charges were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's expert witnesses counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the severity of the case.

"There wasn't the normal affect that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," testified one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the evaluation... was similar to we were having a chat at his home. There was no sense of distress."

Conflicting Psychiatric Opinions

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

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 event and his history showed he persisted in drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over several months in the facility.

They contend his cognitive abilities 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 suffered... he still is more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for competency," testified one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the courtroom, was described as jovial and rather personable during meetings in prison, and was intentionally testing the limits, on occasion using disrespectful terms.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and indicated his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from borderline or impaired to typical because of abstinence from alcohol and improved medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

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