🔗 Share this article

Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was heard on tape informing his associate how they were in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was deemed fit to face trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has learned.

The taped conversations were among more than 100 phone calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy legal competency hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team contend that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to face trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

In contrast, prosecutors argue their medical experts concluded his mental state has improved and that the conversations reveal he is extremely preoccupied on being declared incompetent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, describing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and says to a doctor: you better declare me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Court Proceedings and Medical Opinions

The recordings were recorded last year while he was being held for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover competency.

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed mentally incompetent previously but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was able for proceedings after his treatment period.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries often complained about life in jail and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how awful incarceration was, adding: so we must pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused go-between James Jacobson, 73, were charged with orchestrating a global sex trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which carry a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their detentions came after an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation sourcing individuals 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 reviewing the testimony of multiple specialists - experts, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in court this week.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

A trio of defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's expert witness a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also heard in minute detail on approximately 20 prison calls discussing his trips abroad for the next few months, despite having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this indicates his understanding that he would go free if he was declared unfit and the case were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the severity of the case.

"I didn't see the normal emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," said one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner throughout the examination... was almost like we were having lunch at his club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Conflicting Medical Diagnoses

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

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 incident and his history showed he continued drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his condition.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was discovered in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was fit after observing him over several months in the facility.

They say his cognitive abilities did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the patients that we test for fitness," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the hearing, was described as cheerful and rather engaging during interactions in prison, and was intentionally being provocative, sometimes using informal address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from borderline or deficient to typical because of sobriety and more consistent management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Issues

Key to establishing fitness is whether Jeffries grasps the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial