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One-time A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped informing his British partner how they were finished and in deep trouble if he was deemed fit to stand trial on human trafficking accusations in the coming months, a US district court has been told.

The audio were part of more than 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day fitness to stand trial session recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is battling dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is unfit to stand trial alongside his partner and their accused middleman in October.

In contrast, the prosecution argue their health professionals found his mental state has improved and that the recordings show he is incredibly fixated on being found unfit.

In further recordings, Jeffries states he is praying for a favorable ruling, characterizing being ruled able as a calamity, and instructs a doctor: you better find me unfit, the court was told.

Judicial Hearings and Psychiatric Testimony

The conversations were made last year while he was being treated for several months in a mental health unit at a correctional institution in North Carolina to determine if he could recover fitness.

The elderly defendant had in the past been deemed mentally incompetent previously but prison officials then declared in December that he was fit for proceedings after his evaluation.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries often complained about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how awful prison was, adding: so we got to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported go-between James Jacobson, 73, were charged with operating a global human trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

They have entered not guilty pleas the charges, which have a potential penalty of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody followed an report that showed the trio had been at the centre of a elaborate operation sourcing young men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after reviewing the testimony of six experts - psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including prison doctors - who were cross-examined in proceedings recently.

'Disinhibited' Conduct

Several defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a traumatic brain injury, probable a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries exhibits socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate behaviour, which is part of a set of cognitive symptoms.

Examples involve Jeffries calling the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and referring to his partner Smith as a midget, they say.

He was also taped in minute detail on approximately 20 recorded calls talking about his trips abroad for the next few months, despite having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the charges were dropped.

Conversely, the defense's expert witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the gravity of the situation.

"He lacked the normal emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is up against such severe allegations," said one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"On the contrary, his manner throughout the assessment... was as if we were having lunch at his home. There was no indication of distress."

Opposing Psychiatric Diagnoses

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' decline 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 incident and his medical records showed he kept on drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his general intake had a major impact on his health.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and began having visions, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a nearby property.

Experts from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was able after evaluating him over several months in the facility.

They contend his mental faculties did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an post-mortem could be performed.

"Even given the deterioration that Mr Jeffries has undergone... he still is brighter and more able mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we evaluate for competency," said one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the court, was described as lighthearted and fairly personable during interactions in prison, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, on occasion using informal address.

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

109 Jail Recordings Raise Concerns

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