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Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his British partner that they were in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was declared able to stand trial on human trafficking charges later this year, a New York federal court has heard.

The taped conversations were included in over 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day legal competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling cognitive decline and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to face trial next to his partner and their alleged intermediary in October.

However, government lawyers contend their doctors concluded his condition has improved and that the calls demonstrate he is remarkably preoccupied on being found incompetent.

In other recordings, Jeffries says he is wishing for a positive result, labeling being ruled able as a disaster, and says to a doctor: you better rule me unfit, the judge was told.

Court Proceedings and Health Testimony

The recordings were recorded the previous year while he was being treated for a period of months in a psychiatric facility at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could regain his faculties.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled not competent previously but prison officials then declared in December that he was competent for trial following his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the court Jeffries frequently griped about incarceration and was recorded explaining to Smith how awful jail was, remarking: that's why we have to pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with running a international trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have denied the allegations, which could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their detentions followed an investigation that revealed the three had been at the core of a complex operation sourcing individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will rule in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the evidence of multiple specialists - experts, specialists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in the courtroom this week.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Three defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a head injury, probable Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries shows unfiltered and socially inappropriate conduct, which is consistent with a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries calling the prosecutor's professional psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

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

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

Prosecutors contend this indicates his recognition that he would go free if he was found unfit and the indictment were dismissed.

Conversely, the defence's witnesses counter, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries does not remember his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the situation.

"He lacked the expected emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious charges," stated one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

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

Conflicting Neurological Opinions

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when scans showed brain shrinkage, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been intoxicated at the moment of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he continued drinking subsequent to being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a decisive influence on his state.

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

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over an extended period in prison.

They contend 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 inmates that we assess for fitness," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the hearing, was described as jovial and rather charismatic during evaluations in prison, and was purposely pushing boundaries, sometimes using familiar language.

They found Jeffries with slight deficits and said his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to average because of sobriety and more consistent management of prescriptions during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Present Concerns

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