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Former Abercrombie & Fitch top executive Mike Jeffries was taped telling his associate how they are screwed and in big trouble if he was declared competent to stand trial on human trafficking accusations this autumn, a New York federal court has been told.

The audio were included in over 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith played during a four-day mental competency proceeding this week on Long Island.

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

However, the prosecution say their doctors found his health has improved and that the recordings demonstrate he is extremely fixated on being declared not competent.

In other audio clips, Jeffries states he is wishing for a good outcome, labeling being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a physician: you better rule me incompetent, the court learned.

Legal Process and Medical Evidence

The conversations were taped last year while he was being held for four months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to determine if he could recover his faculties.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit last May but prison officials then announced in December that he was able for proceedings following his evaluation.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries often complained about life in jail and was caught on tape telling to Smith how horrible prison was, remarking: so we got to make this work.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with orchestrating a international human trafficking and commercial sex enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their arrests followed an exposé that uncovered the trio had been at the centre of a elaborate scheme sourcing young men for sex internationally while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after considering the testimony of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, doctors and neurologists, including facility doctors - who were examined in the courtroom recently.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

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

They stated that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and improper behavior, which is part of a range of symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's professional psychologist a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, telling another expert his clothing was ill-fitting, and describing his partner Smith as a midget, according to testimony.

He was also taped in great detail on approximately 20 recorded calls planning his international travel plans for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution contend this indicates his awareness that he would go free if he was declared incompetent and the indictment were dropped.

Conversely, the defence's medical experts disagree, arguing it instead highlights that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the seriousness of the situation.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the examination... was as if we were having a meal at his club. There was no sense of alarm."

Conflicting Medical Assessments

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

Jeffries had been drinking alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his history showed he kept on drinking after being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a decisive influence on his state.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, unable to move, in a neighbour's garden.

Experts from a prison hospital testified that Jeffries was competent after evaluating him over four months in the facility.

They say his intellectual functioning did not match Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be absolutely determined until an examination could be performed.

"Even given the declines that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is sharper and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for fitness," stated one neuropsychologist.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as cheerful and quite engaging during meetings in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using disrespectful terms.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and indicated his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or impaired to average because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent treatment during his evaluation.

109 Recorded Conversations Present Questions

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