Prison Telephone Recordings Raise Questions Regarding Former Abercrombie Boss' Competency for Court Proceedings

Ex- the fashion retailer CEO Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his UK-based partner that they'd be in serious trouble and in grave danger if he was deemed able to go to trial on sex trafficking allegations later this year, a US district court has heard.

The recordings were part of in excess of 100 phone calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day fitness to stand trial proceeding this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is not competent to be tried together with his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

However, the prosecution say their health professionals determined his condition has improved and that the recordings demonstrate he is incredibly fixated on being declared unfit.

In further audio clips, Jeffries states he is hoping for a positive result, describing being deemed competent as a catastrophe, and instructs a medical professional: you must find me incompetent, the judge heard.

Court Proceedings and Psychiatric Testimony

The recordings were taped in the past year while he was being treated for four months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to determine if he could regain competency.

The octogenarian had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent previously but prison officials then stated in December that he was competent for proceedings subsequent to his treatment period.

Government attorneys advised the court Jeffries repeatedly protested life in jail and was heard explaining to Smith how terrible jail was, adding: so we must succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported middleman James Jacobson, 73, were charged with operating a international trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the allegations, which could result in a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their arrests came after an exposé that uncovered the three had been at the centre of a complex scheme recruiting men for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after reviewing the testimony of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Disinhibited' Behavior

Several defence experts, argue that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a head injury, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate conduct, which is part of a range of cognitive symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries calling the prosecution's professional psychologist a cunning bitch, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, they say.

He was also heard in great detail on approximately 20 jail conversations talking about his international travel plans for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

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 medical experts have a different view, saying it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his court-ordered limits and the severity of the situation.

"He lacked the appropriate affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious allegations," stated one doctor who reviewed Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor during the evaluation... was almost like we were having lunch at his home. There was no sign of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Opinions

Testimony indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline started 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 medical records showed he continued drinking following being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general drinking had a major impact on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries experienced psychosis, and began having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbor's yard.

Experts from a Federal Medical Center testified that Jeffries was fit after evaluating him over several months in custody.

They assert his intellectual functioning were not consistent with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be conclusively diagnosed until an examination 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 inmates that we assess for competency," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the hearing, was reported to be lighthearted and quite charismatic during interactions in the facility, and was purposely testing the limits, on occasion using familiar address.

They diagnosed Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his testing scores may have risen since 2023 from borderline or impaired to normal because of sobriety and more consistent treatment during his confinement.

109 Prison Calls Raise Concerns

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