Prison Telephone Tapes Prompt Doubts Over Ex-Abercrombie Executive's Fitness for Trial

Ex- A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his UK-based partner how they are in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was found competent to go to trial on sex trafficking accusations later this year, a federal court in NY has been told.

The recordings were included in in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day fitness to stand trial session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team assert that he is coping with dementia and late onset of the disease and is incapable to stand trial alongside his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution contend their doctors concluded his mental state has stabilized and that the conversations reveal he is remarkably focused on being declared incompetent.

In further recordings, Jeffries states he is wishing for a favorable ruling, describing being found fit as a disaster, and tells a physician: you better find me unfit, the court heard.

Court Proceedings and Medical Testimony

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

The 81-year-old had previously been found mentally incompetent last May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was able for proceedings following his treatment period.

The prosecution told the court Jeffries frequently griped about prison conditions and was caught on tape telling to Smith how horrible prison was, stating: which is why we got to make this work.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused middleman James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a international human trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which have a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody came after an investigation that showed the trio had been at the heart of a complex network sourcing young men for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the testimony of several professionals - experts, specialists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were questioned in court this week.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

Three medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and socially inappropriate behaviour, which is symptomatic of a set of symptoms.

Instances include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on about 20 recorded calls talking about his travel itinerary for the coming months, despite having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this shows his awareness that he would go free if he was found unfit and the case were dropped.

However, the defence's medical experts disagree, saying it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his legal restrictions and the severity of the case.

"I didn't see the normal affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious allegations," stated one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor throughout the assessment... was as if we were having a meal at his club. There was no indication of alarm."

Opposing Medical Assessments

Testimony indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration began in 2013, when tests showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 incident and his records showed he kept on drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a significant effect on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began hallucinating, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Experts from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was fit after observing him over an extended period in custody.

They assert his intellectual functioning did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is brighter and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be jovial and quite charismatic during evaluations in the facility, and was purposely being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful terms.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Prompt Questions

Central to determining fitness is whether Jeffries grasps the charges against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial