One-time Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his British partner how they are finished and in deep trouble if he was found fit to face trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a federal court in NY has learned.
The recordings were among over 100 phone calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day legal competency proceeding this week on Long Island.
Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to face trial next to his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.
In contrast, the prosecution argue their doctors found his mental state has gotten better and that the recordings demonstrate he is remarkably fixated on being found incompetent.
In additional recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, labeling being ruled able as a calamity, and tells a medical professional: you better declare me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.
The conversations were made the previous year while he was being evaluated for four months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could restore his faculties.
The octogenarian had earlier been ruled not competent previously but prison officials then announced in December that he was able for proceedings following his hospital stay.
The prosecution informed the court Jeffries often griped about life in jail and was caught on tape describing to Smith how awful incarceration was, stating: which is why we have to make this work.
Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a worldwide human trafficking and commercial sex business in October 2024.
They have entered not guilty pleas the allegations, which could result in a potential penalty of life imprisonment.
Their arrests were prompted by an exposé that uncovered the group had been at the heart of a complex operation sourcing men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.
The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after considering the statements of several professionals - psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including prison doctors - who were questioned in the courtroom during the hearing.
Several defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, suspected dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and off-color behaviour, which is part of a range of cognitive symptoms.
Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a cunning bitch, complimenting her hair, telling another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.
He was also recorded in minute detail on approximately 20 prison calls planning his international travel plans for the near future, even though having been on home confinement since 2024.
"I wouldn't want to go on trips without you," Jeffries was overheard telling Smith from jail.
Prosecutors suggest this indicates his awareness that he would go free if he was found unfit and the indictment were dropped.
Conversely, the defence's witnesses disagree, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the seriousness of the situation.
"There wasn't the expected emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such grave charges," testified one doctor who assessed Jeffries.
"On the contrary, his behavior throughout the evaluation... was as if we were having a meal at his club. There was no indication of alarm."
Evidence indicated there is information that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when tests showed reduction in volume, which was exacerbated by a accident in 2018.
Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his records showed he persisted in drinking after being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a major impact on his health.
After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started seeing things, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.
Doctors from a Federal Medical Center stated that Jeffries was able after observing him over an extended period in the facility.
They say his cognitive abilities were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy could be performed.
"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one doctor.
Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the courtroom, was described as lighthearted and quite personable during meetings in prison, and was purposely being provocative, on occasion using informal terms.
They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and suggested his testing scores may have gotten better since 2023 from borderline or impaired to average because of sobriety and improved management of prescriptions during his confinement.
Central to establishing fitness is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial
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