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Former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was taped informing his UK-based partner that they'd be finished and in deep trouble if he was found fit to go to trial on human trafficking allegations later this year, a federal court in NY has been told.

The taped conversations were included in over 100 telephone conversations between the ex-fashion boss and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day legal competency hearing this week on Long Island.

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

Nevertheless, prosecutors argue their health professionals found his condition has improved and that the conversations show he is incredibly fixated on being declared unfit.

In further recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a good outcome, labeling being ruled able as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must declare me unfit, the judge was told.

Legal Hearings and Psychiatric Opinions

The conversations were recorded last year while he was being evaluated for four months in a treatment center at a correctional institution in North Carolina to see if he could recover fitness.

The elderly defendant had previously been found mentally incompetent last May but facility staff then declared in December that he was fit for proceedings after his evaluation.

The prosecution told the judge Jeffries frequently griped about incarceration and was caught on tape describing to Smith how awful incarceration was, adding: which is why we must make this work.

The Case

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their purported middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a worldwide human trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

They have denied the charges, which could result in a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their arrests followed an exposé that revealed the trio had been at the centre of a sophisticated operation scouting young men for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will face trial after weighing the testimony of several professionals - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were examined in proceedings recently.

'Disinhibited' Behaviour

A trio of defense witnesses, argue that Jeffries is legally unfit due to the residual effects of a head injury, suspected Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries shows socially inappropriate and off-color behavior, which is consistent with a set of dementia symptoms.

Examples include Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a insult, remarking on 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 excruciating detail on about 20 recorded calls discussing his trips abroad for the coming months, notwithstanding having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors argue this indicates his understanding that he would be released if he was ruled incompetent and the case were dismissed.

However, the defense's expert witnesses counter, stating it instead underscores that Jeffries has forgotten his legal restrictions and the gravity of the charges.

"There wasn't the expected affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is up against such serious charges," stated one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor throughout the evaluation... was as if we were having a meal at his home. There was no sense of anxiety."

Conflicting Neurological Opinions

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a incident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the time of the 2018 event and his history showed he persisted in drinking subsequent to being hospitalized, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical drinking had a decisive influence on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started seeing things, with one event in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a neighbor's yard.

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

They assert his cognitive abilities did not align with Alzheimer's disease, which the court heard could not be definitively confirmed until an autopsy could be performed.

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has suffered... he still is sharper and more functioning intellectually than probably 95% of the patients that we assess for fitness," testified one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a business attire in the courtroom, was reported to be jovial and quite engaging during evaluations in prison, and was purposely testing the limits, on occasion using familiar terms.

They found Jeffries with minor cognitive impairments and indicated his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from low or deficient to typical because of stopping drinking and improved medication management during his stay.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Questions

Fundamental to establishing competency is whether Jeffries comprehends the allegations against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial