🔗 Share this article

One-time Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his associate how they are in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was found competent to face trial on trafficking charges this autumn, a federal court in NY has been told.

The taped conversations were among in excess of 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day fitness to stand trial hearing on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is suffering with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to stand trial together with his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution say their medical experts found his condition has stabilized and that the calls reveal he is extremely fixated on being found not competent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries says he is wishing for a good outcome, describing being deemed competent as a disaster, and says to a doctor: you must find me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Judicial Process and Psychiatric Testimony

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

The octogenarian had in the past been deemed not competent in May but facility staff then declared in December that he was able for trial after his hospital stay.

The prosecution informed the judge Jeffries frequently protested prison conditions and was recorded explaining to Smith how awful jail was, adding: which is why we must make this work.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating 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 imprisonment.

Their detentions followed an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation scouting men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after weighing the statements of multiple specialists - experts, psychiatrists and neurologists, including prison doctors - who were examined in court recently.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the residual effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries shows unfiltered and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a set of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations talking about his travel itinerary for the near future, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this shows his understanding that he would be released if he was found incompetent and the case were dismissed.

In contrast, the defense's medical experts counter, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the severity of the case.

"He lacked the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such severe charges," stated one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior during the examination... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sign of alarm."

Conflicting Medical Assessments

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when tests showed reduction in volume, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 incident and his records showed he continued drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall alcohol consumption had a major impact on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbor's yard.

Medical professionals from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was competent after assessing him over several months in custody.

They contend his cognitive abilities were not consistent with 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 brighter and more capable mentally than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for fitness," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the court, was reported to be cheerful and rather personable during interactions in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using disrespectful language.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his results may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or deficient to typical because of sobriety and better treatment during his stay.

109 Prison Calls Present Concerns

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