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One-time Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Mike Jeffries was recorded saying to his associate that they are in serious trouble and in deep trouble if he was declared competent to stand trial on trafficking charges in the coming months, a US district court has learned.

The taped conversations were among over 100 recorded calls between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a four-day legal competency session on Long Island on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys assert that he is suffering with dementia and late onset of the disease and is incapable to face trial next to his partner and their accused middleman in October.

However, the prosecution argue their doctors concluded his condition has improved and that the recordings demonstrate he is extremely focused on being declared unfit.

In additional audio clips, Jeffries states he is wishing for a positive result, describing being found fit as a disaster, and tells a medical professional: you better find me unfit, the court learned.

Court Proceedings and Medical Testimony

The calls were recorded in the past year while he was being held for a period of months in a treatment center at a federal prison in North Carolina to see if he could regain his faculties.

The octogenarian had earlier been ruled legally unfit last May but prison officials then declared in December that he was fit for trial subsequent to his evaluation.

The prosecution advised the court Jeffries frequently complained about life in jail and was heard describing to Smith how terrible jail was, adding: so we have to pull this off.

Context

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their accused intermediary James Jacobson, 73, were charged with running a international human trafficking and prostitution enterprise in October 2024.

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

Their detentions came after an investigation that revealed the three had been at the heart of a elaborate operation sourcing men for sex around the world while Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after weighing the evidence of multiple specialists - forensic psychologists, specialists and neurologists, including correctional physicians - who were questioned in proceedings this week.

'Inappropriate' Behavior

Three defence experts, testify 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 stated that Jeffries exhibits unfiltered and off-color behaviour, which is consistent with a range of dementia symptoms.

Reported incidents are Jeffries referring to the prosecution's expert witness a cunning bitch, praising her hair, telling another expert his clothing was badly made, and referring to his partner Smith as a dwarf, according to testimony.

He was also recorded in excruciating detail on approximately 20 jail conversations discussing his travel itinerary for the next few months, notwithstanding having been on home confinement since 2024.

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

The prosecution suggest this demonstrates his recognition that he would be released if he was declared unfit and the case were dismissed.

In contrast, the defense's witnesses counter, stating it instead points to that Jeffries has forgotten his court-ordered limits and the gravity of the charges.

"I didn't see the normal reaction that I would anticipate someone to have who is facing such serious allegations," said one doctor who assessed Jeffries.

"Rather, his manner throughout the evaluation... was as if we were having a chat at his home. There was no indication of distress."

Diverging Medical Diagnoses

Evidence indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' decline commenced in 2013, when tests showed brain shrinkage, which was exacerbated by a fall in 2018.

Jeffries had been consuming alcohol at the moment of the 2018 event and his medical records showed he continued drinking after being treated, but an expert told the judge he did not think his overall drinking had a decisive influence on his condition.

After the fall, Jeffries suffered a psychotic break, and started hallucinating, with one incident in 2019 where he was located in his underclothes, incapacitated, in a neighbor's yard.

Doctors from a treatment facility testified that Jeffries was fit after observing him over an extended period in the facility.

They contend his intellectual functioning were not consistent 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 suffered... he still is brighter and more capable intellectually than probably 95% of the inmates that we assess for competency," stated one expert.

Jeffries, wearing a formal wear in the courtroom, was reported to be cheerful and fairly charismatic during evaluations in prison, and was deliberately testing the limits, on occasion using informal terms.

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

109 Prison Calls Raise Issues

Fundamental to establishing fitness is whether Jeffries comprehends the charges against him, their penalties, the {legal proceedings|court process|trial