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Ex- Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded telling his UK-based partner that they were finished and in big trouble if he was deemed competent to go to trial on trafficking charges this autumn, a federal court in NY has heard.

The recordings were among over 100 phone calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith played during a multi-day legal competency hearing this week on Long Island.

Jeffries' lawyers assert that he is coping with dementia and late onset of the disease and is unfit to be tried together with his partner and their alleged facilitator in October.

However, government lawyers contend their doctors found his mental state has improved and that the conversations demonstrate he is remarkably preoccupied on being ruled not competent.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries says he is hoping for a positive result, labeling being deemed competent as a catastrophe, and tells a medical professional: you must rule me unfit, the Central Islip court learned.

Judicial Proceedings and Health Opinions

The conversations were recorded the previous year while he was being evaluated for a period of months in a mental health unit at a US prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover competency.

The octogenarian had previously been found legally unfit last May but facility staff then stated in December that he was fit for proceedings subsequent to his hospital stay.

Government attorneys informed the judge Jeffries often griped about prison conditions and was recorded describing to Smith how awful jail was, remarking: so we must succeed.

Background

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

They have denied the charges, which could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Their being taken into custody were prompted by an exposé that uncovered the trio had been at the centre of a sophisticated scheme sourcing men for sex around the world while Jeffries was chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will be tried after weighing the testimony of six experts - forensic psychologists, doctors and medical experts, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in court recently.

'Inappropriate' Conduct

Several defence experts, testify that Jeffries is cognitively impaired due to the lingering impact of a brain trauma, suspected a form of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They said under oath that Jeffries exhibits disinhibited and socially inappropriate conduct, which is consistent with a range of symptoms.

Reported incidents include Jeffries referring to the prosecutor's psychologist a insult, praising her hair, informing another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, they say.

He was also heard in minute detail on about 20 prison calls discussing his travel itinerary for the next few months, despite having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

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

In contrast, the defense's expert witnesses have a different view, stating it instead points to that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the severity of the situation.

"There wasn't the normal affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such serious charges," said one forensic psychiatrist who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner during the evaluation... was almost like we were having a chat at his club. There was no indication of anxiety."

Opposing Psychiatric Opinions

Reports indicated there is data that Jeffries' decline started in 2013, when scans showed mild atrophy, which was accelerated by a accident in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 incident and his medical records showed he continued drinking after being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a significant effect on his health.

Following the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started hallucinating, with one episode in 2019 where he was discovered in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a treatment facility said that Jeffries was competent after observing him over four months in the facility.

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

"Even given the reduction that Mr Jeffries has experienced... he still is sharper and more able cognitively than probably 95% of the inmates that we evaluate for competency," testified one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the courtroom, was described as lighthearted and quite personable during interactions in the facility, and was intentionally being provocative, on occasion using informal language.

They found Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his performance on tests may have risen since 2023 from low or deficient to normal because of abstinence from alcohol and more consistent medication management during his evaluation.

109 Recorded Conversations Prompt Concerns

Key to determining competency is whether Jeffries understands the charges against him, their consequences, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial