Correctional Facility Telephone Audio Prompt Questions Over Ex-Abercrombie Executive's Competency for Court Proceedings

One-time Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his British partner how they were finished and in grave danger if he was deemed fit to face trial on trafficking accusations in the coming months, a US district court has been told.

The recordings were among in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day fitness to stand trial session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys contend that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to face trial alongside his partner and their purported middleman in October.

However, prosecutors argue their medical experts determined his condition has improved and that the recordings show he is incredibly preoccupied on being ruled incompetent.

In other recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a positive result, labeling being ruled able as a calamity, and says to a physician: you had better rule me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Evidence

The recordings were made last year while he was being held for a period of months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could restore competency.

The 81-year-old had earlier been ruled not competent in May but prison officials then stated in December that he was able for proceedings following his treatment period.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries often griped about incarceration and was recorded explaining to Smith how awful prison was, adding: that's why we got to pull this off.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a international human trafficking and prostitution operation in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which have a potential penalty of a life term.

Their detentions came after an exposé that uncovered the group had been at the heart of a complex operation scouting individuals for sex globally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the testimony of six experts - experts, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were questioned in proceedings during the hearing.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Several medical witnesses for the defense, testify that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the residual effects of a head injury, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and improper behaviour, which is part of a range of dementia symptoms.

Instances include Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's expert witness a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also taped in great detail on approximately 20 jail conversations planning his travel itinerary for the coming months, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this shows his understanding that he would go free if he was declared incompetent and the indictment were dismissed.

However, the defence's witnesses have a different view, saying it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the case.

"He lacked the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious charges," said one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his behavior throughout the examination... was similar to we were having a chat at his country club. There was no sign of anxiety."

Opposing Medical Diagnoses

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

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the time of the 2018 fall and his records showed he persisted in drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a significant effect on his condition.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbor's yard.

Doctors from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was able after assessing him over an extended period in custody.

They say his intellectual functioning were not consistent 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 suffered... he still is brighter and more functioning cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the court, was reported to be jovial and fairly engaging during meetings in prison, and was purposely being provocative, sometimes using disrespectful address.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of sobriety and more consistent medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Questions

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