🔗 Share this article

Ex- A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped telling his UK-based partner how they'd be in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was found competent to go to trial on trafficking allegations this autumn, a federal court in NY has been told.

The audio were among in excess of 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy legal competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is battling dementia and late onset of the disease and is incapable to face trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution contend their doctors determined his health has gotten better and that the conversations reveal he is incredibly fixated on being ruled unfit.

In further tapes, Jeffries says he is hoping for a favorable ruling, characterizing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must declare me unfit, the judge was told.

Legal Proceedings and Health Testimony

The calls were recorded the previous year while he was being treated for several months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover competency.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled legally unfit last May but facility staff then announced in December that he was able for trial following his hospital stay.

The prosecution told the court Jeffries repeatedly complained about prison conditions and was caught on tape telling to Smith how horrible prison was, adding: so we must make this work.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were charged with operating a international trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

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

Their arrests came after an exposé that showed the group had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation scouting individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the statements of several professionals - psychologists, specialists and brain specialists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in court during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

A trio of defense witnesses, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the after-effects of a head injury, likely Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and socially inappropriate behaviour, which is part of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a insult, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on approximately 20 prison calls planning his international travel plans for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this demonstrates his awareness that he would go free if he was found unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's medical experts have a different view, saying it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the charges.

"He lacked the expected reaction that I would expect someone to have who is up against such grave charges," stated one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior throughout the assessment... was similar to we were having lunch at his club. There was no sign of distress."

Opposing Neurological Diagnoses

Testimony indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 event and his records showed he kept on drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his state.

In the wake of the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started hallucinating, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was able after observing him over several months in prison.

They assert his cognitive abilities did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is more capable and more functioning mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," stated one doctor.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the courtroom, was reported to be lighthearted and fairly engaging during meetings in the facility, and was intentionally testing the limits, on occasion using disrespectful address.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and indicated his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of abstinence from alcohol and improved medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Present Questions

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