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Former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was heard on tape telling his British partner how they are finished and in big trouble if he was found competent to go to trial on trafficking charges in the coming months, a US district court has been told.

The taped conversations were included in in excess of 100 telephone conversations between the one-time CEO and Matthew Smith cited during a lengthy fitness to stand trial proceeding recently on Long Island.

Jeffries' attorneys argue that he is suffering with dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's disease and is incapable to be tried next to his partner and their accused facilitator in October.

In contrast, government lawyers say their health professionals found his health has gotten better and that the calls reveal he is extremely focused on being declared incompetent.

In additional tapes, Jeffries says he is hoping for a good outcome, characterizing being deemed competent as a calamity, and instructs a medical professional: you had better declare me unfit, the Central Islip court heard.

Court Proceedings and Health Opinions

The recordings were made the previous year while he was being held for several months in a psychiatric facility at a federal prison in North Carolina to assess if he could recover his faculties.

The elderly defendant had earlier been ruled mentally incompetent last May but correctional authorities then announced in December that he was competent for trial following his hospital stay.

Government attorneys told the judge Jeffries repeatedly griped about life in jail and was heard telling to Smith how horrible incarceration was, stating: so we must succeed.

Background

Jeffries, his partner Smith, 62, and their alleged middleman James Jacobson, 73, were indicted with running a global sex trafficking and commercial sex operation in October 2024.

They have pleaded not guilty the accusations, which have a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Their arrests followed an investigation that showed the group had been at the centre of a complex network sourcing individuals for sex around the world while Jeffries was the head of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Honorable Nusrat J. Choudhury will make a determination in May about whether Jeffries will stand trial after considering the testimony of several professionals - forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and medical experts, including facility doctors - who were questioned in the courtroom this week.

'Inappropriate' Behaviour

Three defence experts, argue that Jeffries is mentally incompetent due to the after-effects of a brain trauma, likely dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

They stated that Jeffries shows unfiltered and off-color conduct, which is part of a spectrum of symptoms.

Examples are Jeffries calling the prosecutor's psychologist a derogatory term, complimenting her hair, informing another expert his clothing was poorly tailored, and describing his partner Smith as a dwarf, the court heard.

He was also heard in excruciating detail on about 20 jail conversations planning his travel itinerary for the coming months, even though having been on restricted movement since 2024.

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

Prosecutors contend this demonstrates his awareness that he would regain his freedom if he was ruled unfit and the case were dismissed.

In contrast, the defence's expert witnesses have a different view, arguing it instead highlights that Jeffries fails to recall his conditions and the seriousness of the case.

"There wasn't the expected affect that I would anticipate someone to have who is confronting such severe allegations," stated one doctor who evaluated Jeffries.

"Rather, his demeanor throughout the examination... was as if we were having lunch at his home. There was no sense of distress."

Conflicting Psychiatric Opinions

Testimony indicated there is evidence that Jeffries' mental decline began in 2013, when scans 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 records showed he kept on drinking following being hospitalised, but an expert told the judge he did not think his typical alcohol consumption had a decisive influence on his state.

Following the fall, Jeffries became psychotic, and began having visions, with one episode in 2019 where he was located in his underwear, immobile, in a nearby property.

Medical professionals from a prison hospital stated that Jeffries was able after evaluating him over an extended period in the facility.

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 experienced... he still is brighter and more functioning mentally than probably 95% of the individuals that we assess for fitness," testified one doctor.

Jeffries, wearing a suit and tie in the hearing, was described as cheerful and quite charismatic during interactions in the facility, and was intentionally testing the limits, sometimes using familiar language.

They diagnosed Jeffries with mild neurocognitive deficits and said his performance on tests may have improved since 2023 from borderline or impaired to average because of stopping drinking and more consistent management of prescriptions during his evaluation.

109 Jail Recordings Raise Issues

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