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One-time A&F top executive Mike Jeffries was taped saying to his UK-based partner that they'd be finished and in deep trouble if he was declared fit to stand trial on sex trafficking accusations in the coming months, a New York federal court has heard.

The recordings were included in more than 100 telephone conversations between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith played during a four-day fitness to stand trial hearing recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers contend that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's disease and is unfit to face trial alongside his partner and their accused intermediary in October.

Nevertheless, the prosecution contend their doctors determined his health has stabilized and that the calls reveal he is extremely preoccupied on being declared not competent.

In further audio clips, Jeffries is heard saying he is hoping for a favorable ruling, describing being found fit as a disaster, and says to a doctor: you better rule me incompetent, the Central Islip court heard.

Judicial Hearings and Medical Testimony

The calls were taped in the past year while he was being held for several months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain his faculties.

The octogenarian had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent last May but facility staff then declared in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his hospital stay.

Prosecutors informed the court Jeffries frequently griped about prison conditions and was caught on tape explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, remarking: so we must pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with operating a international 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 in prison.

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an investigation that revealed the group had been at the core of a sophisticated operation sourcing young men for sex globally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Presiding Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the evidence of multiple specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in court this week.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Three defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, probable dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries demonstrates unfiltered and socially inappropriate behavior, which is consistent with a range of symptoms.

Reported incidents involve Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also heard in minute detail on about 20 prison calls talking about his trips abroad for the coming months, even though having been on house arrest since 2024.

"I can't go on trips without you," Jeffries was heard saying to Smith from jail.

Prosecutors contend this demonstrates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was declared unfit and the indictment were dropped.

In contrast, the defense's witnesses counter, arguing it instead highlights that Jeffries does not remember his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"I didn't see the appropriate emotional response that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such grave charges," said one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his demeanor during the examination... was almost like we were having a meal at his club. There was no indication of alarm."

Opposing Psychiatric Opinions

Evidence indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline commenced in 2013, when imaging showed mild atrophy, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his records showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a significant effect on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began having visions, with one event in 2019 where he was found in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center said that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over an extended period in custody.

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

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is more capable and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we evaluate for competency," testified one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as jovial and fairly charismatic during meetings in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, at times using familiar address.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and suggested his performance on tests may have gotten better since 2023 from low or impaired to average because of stopping drinking and improved medication management during his stay.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Issues

Central to assessing competency is whether Jeffries understands the allegations against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial