🔗 Share this article

One-time the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his UK-based partner how they are screwed and in grave danger if he was deemed fit to face trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has learned.

The taped conversations were among in excess of 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day mental competency session recently on Long Island.

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

In contrast, prosecutors argue their doctors concluded his health has stabilized and that the calls demonstrate he is extremely focused on being declared unfit.

In further recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a positive result, characterizing being ruled able as a catastrophe, and says to a doctor: you must find me unfit, the Central Islip court heard.

Judicial Proceedings and Psychiatric Evidence

The calls were taped the previous year while he was being evaluated for four months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent in May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was able for proceedings subsequent to his evaluation.

The prosecution told the judge Jeffries often protested incarceration and was recorded describing to Smith how awful prison was, remarking: that's why we must succeed.

Background

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

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which have a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their being taken into custody came after an investigation that revealed the trio had been at the core of a sophisticated operation recruiting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the statements of six experts - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were questioned in proceedings this week.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Several defense witnesses, maintain 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 exhibits socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate conduct, which is symptomatic of a set of symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries referring to the prosecution's psychologist a derogatory term, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also taped in great detail on about 20 recorded calls discussing his international travel plans for the next few months, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

The prosecution argue this shows his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the case were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's witnesses have a different view, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries fails to recall his legal restrictions and the seriousness of the charges.

"He lacked the appropriate affect that I would expect someone to have who is facing such grave allegations," stated one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Instead, his behavior during the evaluation... was similar to we were having a chat at his country club. There was no sign of distress."

Conflicting Medical Opinions

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was worsened 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 hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a major impact on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was able after assessing him over an extended period in custody.

They say his mental faculties were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for competency," stated one expert.

Jeffries, dressed in a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and quite charismatic during meetings in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, sometimes using disrespectful terms.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his results may have improved since 2023 from borderline or deficient to typical because of stopping drinking and improved medication management during his confinement.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Issues

Central to establishing competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their implications, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial