🔗 Share this article

Former Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his associate how they'd be screwed and in deep trouble if he was declared fit to go to trial on sex trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has learned.

The taped conversations were part of more than 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is coping with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is incapable to face trial together with his partner and their accused middleman in October.

In contrast, government lawyers say their doctors concluded his condition has gotten better and that the conversations demonstrate he is incredibly preoccupied on being found not competent.

In additional recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a positive result, describing being found fit as a calamity, and tells a doctor: you better declare me incompetent, the court heard.

Court Proceedings and Medical Testimony

The conversations were made in the past year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could restore competency.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled legally unfit last May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was competent for trial after his treatment period.

The prosecution informed the judge Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was recorded telling to Smith how terrible jail was, stating: which is why we got to succeed.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with orchestrating a worldwide sex trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their arrests followed an exposé that revealed the three had been at the heart of a sophisticated network recruiting individuals for sex globally while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the statements of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were examined in the courtroom this week.

'Unrestrained' Conduct

A trio of defence experts, argue that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the residual effects of a head injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and off-color behavior, which is part of a set of dementia symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecution's psychologist a derogatory term, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on approximately 20 prison calls planning his trips abroad for the near future, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was recorded telling Smith from jail.

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

However, the defence's medical experts counter, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the seriousness of the situation.

"I didn't see the expected reaction that I would expect someone to have who is facing such serious charges," testified one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his behavior throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having lunch at his country club. There was no indication of alarm."

Diverging Psychiatric Assessments

Reports indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when imaging showed reduction in volume, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his history showed he kept on drinking after being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a decisive influence on his state.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

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

They contend his intellectual functioning were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a formal wear in the hearing, was reported to be cheerful and fairly charismatic during meetings in prison, and was purposely testing the limits, at times using disrespectful address.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and said his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of stopping drinking and improved treatment during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Issues

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