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Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded informing his British partner how they are finished and in big trouble if he was declared fit to stand trial on sex trafficking accusations this autumn, a federal court in NY has been told.

The taped conversations were included in in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a four-day mental competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers argue that he is suffering with cognitive decline and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to stand trial alongside his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

In contrast, the prosecution say their health professionals found his mental state has gotten better and that the recordings reveal he is remarkably focused on being found not competent.

In further tapes, Jeffries is heard saying he is praying for a good outcome, describing being found fit as a calamity, and says to a physician: you better find me unfit, the court was told.

Legal Proceedings and Health Opinions

The conversations were made the previous year while he was being evaluated for several months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to assess if he could restore fitness.

The octogenarian had previously been found legally unfit last May but correctional authorities then declared in December that he was competent for proceedings subsequent to his treatment period.

Prosecutors told the court Jeffries frequently complained about life in jail and was heard explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, stating: which is why we got to succeed.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused middleman James Jacobson, 73, were accused with operating a worldwide trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

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

Their being taken into custody came after an report that revealed the three had been at the core of a complex operation recruiting men for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the testimony of several professionals - psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in proceedings this week.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Three medical witnesses for the defense, maintain that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and off-color behavior, which is symptomatic of a spectrum of cognitive symptoms.

Instances are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's expert witness a insult, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and describing his partner Smith as a derogatory term, the court heard.

He was also taped in excruciating detail on approximately 20 recorded calls talking about his travel itinerary 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 recorded telling Smith from incarceration.

The prosecution contend this shows his understanding that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the case were dropped.

However, the defense's medical experts disagree, arguing it instead underscores that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the seriousness of the situation.

"He lacked the appropriate affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his behavior throughout the assessment... was as if we were having a chat at his home. There was no sense of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Assessments

Evidence indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline started in 2013, when tests showed mild atrophy, which was worsened by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the time of the 2018 fall and his history showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, immobile, in a neighbour's garden.

Medical professionals from a Federal Medical Center said that Jeffries was fit after observing him over several months in prison.

They assert his cognitive abilities were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is brighter and more able intellectually than probably 95% of the individuals that we test for fitness," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and quite personable during interactions in the facility, and was purposely being provocative, on occasion using disrespectful terms.

They assessed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from borderline or impaired to average because of abstinence from alcohol and better management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

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