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Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was taped telling his associate that they'd be in serious trouble and in big trouble if he was found able to go to trial on trafficking charges later this year, a US district court has heard.

The taped conversations were part of over 100 recorded calls between the former retail executive and Matthew Smith referred to during a multi-day fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' legal team argue that he is battling dementia and late onset of Alzheimer's and is not competent to stand trial together with his partner and their alleged middleman in October.

Nevertheless, government lawyers argue their health professionals found his mental state has improved and that the conversations reveal he is incredibly focused on being found incompetent.

In further recordings, Jeffries is heard saying he is wishing for a good outcome, characterizing being ruled able as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you had better find me incompetent, the judge heard.

Judicial Hearings and Psychiatric Opinions

The recordings were taped the previous year while he was being evaluated for several months in a treatment center at a US prison in North Carolina to see if he could restore fitness.

The 81-year-old had previously been found legally unfit previously but correctional authorities then stated in December that he was competent for trial following his treatment period.

Government attorneys told the court Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was recorded explaining to Smith how horrible jail was, remarking: that's why we must pull this off.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused go-between James Jacobson, 73, were accused with orchestrating a global sex trafficking and prostitution business in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the charges, which have a maximum sentence of a life term.

Their detentions came after an report that showed the trio had been at the centre of a complex operation recruiting individuals for sex internationally while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will decide in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after reviewing the testimony of multiple specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists and brain specialists, including facility doctors - who were cross-examined in the courtroom this week.

'Unrestrained' Behavior

Three defense witnesses, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the residual effects of a brain trauma, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They testified that Jeffries demonstrates socially inappropriate and socially inappropriate behavior, which is part of a set of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's psychologist a derogatory term, remarking on her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a derogatory term, according to testimony.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations talking about his trips abroad for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on house arrest since 2024.

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

The prosecution argue this shows his awareness that he would go free if he was ruled incompetent and the case were dismissed.

In contrast, the defense's expert witnesses disagree, stating it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his conditions and the gravity of the case.

"I didn't see the normal emotional response that I would expect someone to have who is confronting such grave charges," stated one forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Jeffries.

"Instead, his demeanor during the assessment... was as if we were having a chat at his country club. There was no sign of distress."

Conflicting Neurological Assessments

Evidence indicated there is data that Jeffries' cognitive deterioration started in 2013, when imaging showed mild atrophy, which was worsened by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 fall and his medical records showed he persisted in drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and started seeing things, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was fit after assessing him over several months in prison.

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

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

Jeffries, dressed in a suit and tie in the court, was described as cheerful and rather engaging during interactions in the facility, and was deliberately pushing boundaries, on occasion using disrespectful language.

They assessed Jeffries with slight deficits and said his testing scores may have improved since 2023 from low or impaired to typical because of stopping drinking and improved medication management during his confinement.

109 Recorded Conversations Raise Questions

Central to establishing competency is whether Jeffries grasps the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial