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One-time Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner how they were in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was deemed competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges in the coming months, a federal court in NY has learned.

The audio were included in over 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a lengthy fitness to stand trial session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is coping with cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to face trial together with his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

In contrast, prosecutors argue their health professionals found his health has gotten better and that the calls demonstrate he is remarkably focused on being declared unfit.

In other recordings, Jeffries says he is praying for a positive result, labeling being found fit as a disaster, and says to a doctor: you better find me unfit, the Central Islip court was told.

Judicial Hearings and Medical Evidence

The conversations were recorded the previous year while he was being held for a period of months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain competency.

The 81-year-old had previously been found mentally incompetent previously but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was competent for trial after his evaluation.

Prosecutors told the court Jeffries repeatedly protested prison conditions and was caught on tape telling to Smith how terrible jail was, stating: that's why we must pull this off.

The Case

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

They have entered not guilty pleas the accusations, which could result in a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Their being taken into custody came after an investigation that uncovered the three had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation recruiting young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the testimony of six experts - psychologists, doctors and brain specialists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in the courtroom during the hearing.

'Unrestrained' Behaviour

Three defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the lingering impact of a traumatic brain injury, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries shows disinhibited and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a set of symptoms.

Instances involve Jeffries referring to the prosecution's professional psychologist a insult, 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 taped in minute detail on around 20 recorded calls planning his international travel plans for the next few months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution argue this demonstrates his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled incompetent and the indictment were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, saying it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"There wasn't the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such grave allegations," stated one expert who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner throughout the evaluation... was similar to we were having lunch at his home. There was no sense of distress."

Diverging Neurological Assessments

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was accelerated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his history showed he continued drinking following being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a significant effect on his state.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started hallucinating, with one episode in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

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

They say his intellectual functioning did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is more capable and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the patients that we test for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as jovial and fairly charismatic during interactions in the facility, and was purposely testing the limits, on occasion using familiar address.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and suggested his performance on tests may have gotten better since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of sobriety and more consistent medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Present Issues

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